Acquisition

CRH PLC
29 July 2003

                             N E W S R E L E A S E

                                                                  29th July 2003

                      CRH TO ACQUIRE MAJOR DUTCH BUSINESS

                              IN LARGEST EVER DEAL





CRH plc, the international building materials group, announces that it has
reached agreement in principle to acquire the distribution and building products
operations of Cementbouw Handel & Industrie ('Cementbouw') for a total cash
consideration, including debt assumed, of euro 646 million. In addition, CRH has
also reached conditional agreement to invest a total of euro 47 million for a
45% stake in a leveraged buyout of Cementbouw's materials operations. Subject to
the necessary consultations and regulatory approvals, both transactions are
expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year.



Commenting on the proposed transactions, Liam O'Mahony, CRH Chief Executive
said:



'With its first class operations in the Dutch market, Cementbouw has long been
an acquisition target for CRH and represents an excellent strategic fit with
CRH's existing operations in the Netherlands. It would firmly establish the
enlarged group as a major national player in both the retail DIY and wholesale
merchanting sectors and strengthen CRH's depth and range of manufactured clay
and concrete products. We believe that the integration of Cementbouw with CRH's
businesses in the Netherlands creates opportunities to realise significant
operational synergies while also providing a strong base for further growth. The
intended 45% joint venture investment in Cementbouw's materials operations would
enable CRH to participate in profitable established segments of the Dutch
construction market where we are not already present and should provide
opportunities for further development.



Completion of this acquisition would bring our cumulative spend in 2003 on
acquisitions and investments to over euro 1.2 billion. Our financial capacity to
make other acquisitions is strong, and our development teams remain busy; we
expect to deliver a further good level of development spend in the remaining
five months of the year.'



Cementbouw is a leading Dutch building materials group. Its combined
distribution and building products operations reported operating profit (EBITA)
of euro 73 million on sales of euro 790 million in 2002, after charging
depreciation of euro 27 million. These operations would be integrated with CRH's
existing Distribution, Clay Products and Concrete Products groups. After
allowing for revaluation of fixed assets, the net assets to be acquired are
estimated to amount to approximately euro 354 million giving rise to estimated
goodwill of euro 292 million.



Cementbouw's Distribution operations, which comprise both DIY and builders
merchanting activities, are concentrated primarily in the northern and
northeastern provinces of the Netherlands. They are an excellent strategic fit
with CRH's existing operations which are predominantly in the south of the
country. Combining the two businesses would give the enlarged group national
coverage and provide opportunities for economies of scale, synergy in back
office operations and sharing of best practice.



Cementbouw's DIY division is the second largest Intergamma franchisee, operating
a total of 54 GAMMA and Karwei stores. Combining these stores with CRH's 75
GAMMA/Karwei outlets in Benelux would result in annual DIY sales for the
enlarged group of in excess of euro 650 million and consolidate CRH's position
as a leading player in the Dutch market.



In the builders merchanting segment, Cementbouw's 36 stores supply a broad range
of building products used in the construction and renovation of mainly
residential buildings. CRH's 48 merchanting stores are located chiefly in the
southern provinces of the Netherlands. The combination of the two geographically
complementary merchanting operations would create a strong nationwide
organisation with annual sales of approximately euro 600 million.



Cementbouw's building products businesses manufacture sand-lime bricks (an
important product segment in the Netherlands) as well as clay and concrete
pavers, concrete flooring, walling and foundation products. The clay and
concrete businesses would complement CRH's existing operations in these sectors,
while the addition of sand-lime bricks would form a natural extension to the
product range currently offered by CRH.



Cementbouw's materials operations, in which CRH intends to take a 45% stake,
include a major Dutch trader in cement, fly-ash and aggregates plus a Top 3
readymixed concrete producer in the Netherlands. Its logistics operations
comprise strategically located storage depots and a fleet of trucks and inland
ships. The combined net sales for this division in 2002 amounted to € 260
million.





Contact CRH at Dublin 404 1000 ([phone])



Liam O'Mahony Chief Executive

Harry Sheridan Finance Director

Myles Lee Finance Director Designate

Brian Hill Managing Director, CRH Europe Products & Distribution





CRH will host an analysts' conference call at 3:00 p.m. BST on 29th July 2003 to
discuss this acquisition. The dial-in number is [phone].

A presentation complementing this announcement, which will be used during the
conference call, will be available on CRH's website on www.crh.com.

A recording of the conference call will be available from 4:30 p.m. BST on 29th
July 2003 by dialling [phone]. The security code for the replay will be
343132.





Notes to Editors

CRH is an international building materials group employing c. 50,000 people at
over 1,600 locations in 23 countries worldwide. In 2002, CRH achieved sales of
euro 10,794 million, roughly 60% of which arose in the Americas, and profit
before tax of euro 856 million.

CRH remains focused on making bolt-on acquisitions, complemented by larger
strategic deals where they offer excellent value. CRH has 14 development teams
working around the world to build market knowledge and establish strong
relationships with potential acquisitions. In the first half of 2003, CRH
announced 20 acquisitions with a total value of over €550m. CRH has made over
300 acquisitions between 1996 and the present day, totalling over €7 billion,
excluding today's deal.



CRH plc, Belgard Castle, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, Ireland TELEPHONE [phone]
                               FAX [phone]

   E-MAIL [e-mail] WEBSITE www.crh.com Registered Office, 42 Fitzwilliam
                           Square, Dublin 2, Ireland


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