Following expiration of the deadline, STRABAG has now withdrawn from the agreement.
Vienna, 3 July 2009 STRABAG SE on 1 July 2009 withdrew from the purchase contract for the activities of CEMEX in Hungary and Austria. The agreement had been signed in the summer of 2008.
For the past 11 months, the purchase had been subjected to a review by the cartel authorities in Hungary and Austria. While the Hungarian authorities had already stated their conditional approval, approval by the Austrian authorities remained pending.
The purchase agreement contained a commitment period until 30 June 2009. Following expiration of the deadline, STRABAG has now withdrawn from the agreement.
Dr. Hans Peter Haselsteiner, the CEO of STRABAG, is disappointed by the failure of the acquisition: “Unfortunately, we were unable to conclude the proceedings in front of the cartel authorities within 11 months. We made every effort but we could not convince the competition authorities of a positive decision.”
STRABAG SE is one of Europe’s leading construction groups. With some 74,000 employees, STRABAG generated a construction output volume of € 13.7 billion in the 2008 financial year. From its core markets of Austria and Germany, STRABAG is present via its numerous subsidiaries in all countries of Eastern and South-East Europe, in selected markets in Western Europe and on the Arabian Peninsula. STRABAG’s activities span the entire construction industry (Building Construction and Civil Engineering, Transportation Infrastructures, Tunnelling) and cover the entire value-added chain in the field of construction. More information is available at www.strabag.com, www.strabag-environmentaltechnology.com.