FRANKFURT (Reuters) – HeidelbergCement, the world’s second-largest cement maker, said on Tuesday it has taken a 45% stake in U.S.-based Command Alkon, which provides software and technology needed to manage construction materials’ supply chains.
Thoma Bravo, one of the largest software-focused private equity firms, will keep a 55% in the company, which HeidelbergCement said has the biggest installed software base in the global construction materials sector.
“Our goal is to become the first industrial-tech company in our industry. With this partnership we believe we can set a standard for the heavy construction materials industry,” HeidelbergCement CEO Dominik von Achten told Reuters.
“The investment in Command Alkon and the partnership with Thoma Bravo now allows us to monetize the hidden potential of our assets and translate it into a new growth path for HeidelbergCement.”
No financial details were disclosed.
A person familiar with the matter said that HeidelbergCement was paying about $250 million for the stake and that Command Alkon as a whole was being valued at $1.7 billion in the transaction.
HeidelbergCement a year ago outlined its new corporate strategy based on the two trends of climate change and digitalisation in a bid to transform its business in one of the most CO2-intensive industries worldwide.
Command Alkon’s portfolio includes software and technology for plant and site automation, materials ordering and scheduling, inventory and mix management, trucking logistics and fleet optimization as well as office and field operations.
Thoma Bravo acquired Command Alkon for an undisclosed sum last year.
“We are so excited to partner with HeidelbergCement, who is the clear industry leader in terms of digital transformation, to further support Command Alkon’s growth strategy and transform the heavy building materials industry,” A.J. Rohde, senior partner at Thoma Bravo, said.
Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Hans Seidenstuecker and Susan Fenton
