Acquisition

CRH PLC
13 September 2007


                            N E W S   R E L E A S E
                                                               13 September 2007



                  CRH'S AMERICAS MATERIALS DIVISION COMPLETES
                      FOUR ACQUISITIONS FOR US$350 MILLION


CRH plc,  the international building materials group, announces four separate
acquisitions by its Americas Materials Division for a total combined cash
consideration, including debt assumed, of US$350 million (euro 258 million).
Intangible assets (largely goodwill) arising on these four transactions amount
to approximately US$140 million. The combined businesses reported EBITDA of
US$53 million in 2006 on sales of US$360 million.

In early September, the Americas Materials Division acquired Conrad Yelvington
Distributors, Inc. ('CYDI') the largest rail distributor of aggregates in the
Southeast US. CYDI is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, and handles
approximately 10 million tons of materials through its network of 27 rail-served
distribution terminals located throughout Florida and in Alabama, Mississippi
and Michigan. CYDI leases over 1,800 railcars and owns 35 locomotives for
railcar movements, and most of its yards are strategically located in immediate
proximity to large aggregates consumers. CYDI is a strong geographic and
complementary fit with Americas Materials' APAC business (acquired in August
2006), and also with CRH's extensive local Precast and Architectural Products
businesses in the Southeast US. This acquisition is a key step in furthering the
integration of CRH's Materials and Products operations in the important Florida
market.

The Materials Division's West region acquired two integrated aggregates,
asphalt, readymixed concrete and paving/construction businesses during August:
Eugene Sand & Gravel, based in Eugene, Oregon, and Cessford Construction, which
operates in central and eastern Iowa and in west central Illinois. These
businesses have combined aggregates reserves of approximately 160 million tons
and in 2006 produced 2.3 million tons of aggregates, 0.4 million tons of asphalt
and 0.3 million cubic yards of readymixed concrete.  Eugene Sand & Gravel is an
excellent fit with our existing operations in Oregon, and in particular with the
Egge Sand & Gravel business which was acquired in October 2006.  Cessford
represents a significant market expansion in Iowa .

At the end of August, the Materials Division's Mid-Atlantic region acquired
McMinn's Asphalt and Prospect Aggregates, a vertically integrated materials
business based near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From its network of two quarries,
five asphalt plants and four concrete plants, McMinn's produces 1.7 million tons
of aggregates, 0.7 million tons of asphalt and 0.2 million cubic yards of
concrete annually. McMinn's is an excellent geographic fit with our existing
Pennsy Supply operation in south-central Pennsylvania, adding approximately 170
million of well-located reserves and providing a good growth platform for
further vertically integrated expansion.

Commenting of these acquisitions, Liam O'Mahony, Chief Executive of CRH said:
'The recent acquisition of CYDI represents a major expansion of our materials
business in Florida, adding a highly respected key player in the materials
supply chain with an extensive and efficient rail distribution network in this
large and long-term growth market. CYDI is a superb fit with CRH's existing
operations in Florida, and should be an excellent development platform for
future growth. The other three transactions are in keeping with our ongoing
strategy of adding strong, well-managed businesses with good market and reserve
positions to our existing Materials operations across the United States.'


Contact CRH at Dublin 404 1000 ([phone])
Liam O'Mahony, Chief Executive
Myles Lee, Finance Director
Eimear O'Flynn, Head of Investor Relations
Maeve Carton, Group Controller


       CRH plc, Belgard Castle , Clondalkin, Dublin 22, Ireland TELEPHONE
                       +353.1.4041000 FAX [phone]

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



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