The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will not oppose the purchase of BGC Cementitious by Cement Australia, Holcim, Heidelberg Materials Australia (HMA) and Adbri, after the parties revised their original proposal to address competition concerns.
Regulators had flagged potential problems with the initial structure of the deal, which saw significant overlap among suppliers of ready‑mix concrete (RMX) and aggregates in greater Perth. That proposal was subsequently amended to include a sale of a large set of BGC assets to Adbri, a move the ACCC said addressed its preliminary worries.
“An initial proposed structure for the acquisition of BGC by Cement Australia, Holcim and HMA raised significant preliminary competition concerns for us, particularly in relation to the competitive overlap in RMX and aggregate quarries in Western Australia,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.
Under the amended arrangement, Cement Australia, Holcim and HMA will take BGC’s cement plant, cement transport assets and three RMX sites, while Adbri will acquire the majority of BGC’s RMX operations, most aggregates and asphalt sites, two mobile RMX plants, associated transport assets and BGC’s Materials Technology Centre in Hazelmere (excluding cement‑related assets).
Adbri already supplies cement in Western Australia but, before this deal, did not operate in the state’s RMX, asphalt or aggregates markets. Cement Australia is a 50:50 joint venture between Holcim and HMA; it supplies cementitious products across Australia but does not operate cement or slag production facilities in WA.
“We examined the amended acquisition proposal very closely,” Dr Williams said. “In particular we looked at both the loss of BGC as a competitor in the supply of RMX and the risk that Cement Australia or Adbri would use their position as cement suppliers to hinder the ability of rival RMX suppliers to compete.”
The ACCC’s review considered how the merged firms would perform across the supply chain, including margins at different levels and the incentive to raise prices for RMX in Perth and in more localised markets. The regulator found that Cement Australia and Adbri would have notable excess capacity in cement production in WA, and that both firms would likely compete with each other to supply cement to rival RMX producers after the transaction.
“While we acknowledge strong concerns from some market participants, we found that Cement Australia and Adbri would be likely to compete with each other to supply cement to RMX competitors after the acquisition.” Dr Williams said.
Detailed analysis of delivery patterns and the marginal cost of servicing customers led the ACCC to conclude that remaining RMX suppliers would continue to constrain the combined position of HMA and Holcim across Perth. On that basis, the commission did not consider the amended acquisition would be likely to substantially lessen competition in any market.
BGC Cementitious is a division of the BGC Group and supplies cement and slag, aggregates (including hard rock and manufactured sand), RMX and asphalt in WA, supported by BGC Transport. The Materials Technology Centre provides testing services for cement, RMX and asphalt.
The parties first sought informal merger clearance on 11 February 2025. After the ACCC raised preliminary concerns, the bidders revised the deal in May 2025 to include Adbri as an acquirer of most RMX and quarry assets, a restructuring the ACCC says resolves the main competition issues it had identified.
