...EMEA Investor Tour: Fitch Ratings' Building Materials and Building Products team recently held a series of investor meetings in London, Paris and Zurich on the building materials and products and construction sectors. This report covers some of the main questions asked during those meetings and our responses to them. M&A Shapes Sector: Mega-deals are shaping the industry and changing the face of companies in the sector for many years to come. The most prominent examples are the announced merger between the world's largest cement manufacturers, Holcim Ltd (`BBB'/Stable) and Lafarge SA (`BB+'/RWP), and CRH plc's (`BBB'/RWN) EUR6.5bn acquisition of assets disposed of by the former two. Other peers are also shifting their business mix, albeit less dramatically, including HeidelbergCement AG (`BB+'/Stable) with its USD1.4bn sale of its building products business and Compagnie de Saint-Gobain (`BBB'/RWN), which is selling its packaging unit, Verallia. Limited Financial Flexibility: Fitch maintains...
