Denver construction materials giant Summit Materials mulls competitor buyout - Denver Business Journal

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The company made headlines last year with a multibillion-dollar acquisition of its own.

A Denver-based materials giant is seriously considering an acquisition proposal.

Summit Materials Inc. (NYSE: SUM) is one of the top cement producers in the U.S. supplying customers with concrete, aggregate and asphalt. The company said Thursday that it held "initial discussions" with an interested party and has received a non-binding acquisition proposal.

"Summit's Board of Directors will carefully evaluate the proposal to determine the course of action it believes is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders," the company announced.

A news report from Reuters identified the interested party as materials rival Quikrete Holdings Inc. Atlanta-based Quikrete is privately held and identifies as the largest manufacturer of packaged concrete.

Summit Materials has a market capitalization of $8 billion on the New York Stock Exchange as of Oct. 25.

CEO Anne Noonan described Summit Materials as a construction material solution provider and “not a fancy company," while speaking at a business event in Denver on Oct. 23.

“There’s a lot of money in rock,” she told the audience of Colorado Business Roundtable's View from the Top event. “The problem we solve is we serve a woefully underbuilt country.”

When asked about the top uncertainties in her line of business, Noonan cited interest rates and their impact on construction projects — like homebuilding — being delayed.

She also mentioned challenges with permitting consistency across the U.S. and expressed the desire for leaders to appreciate the benefits of gathering construction materials near communities, instead of needing to haul them in from great distances.

“It takes rock to build houses, and if you move it further and further out past 50 miles, then they can't afford the houses. So there's some practicalities that policymakers can help with on permitting for us," Noonan said.

Summit Materials made news headlines last year with its $3.2 billion acquisition of the U.S. operations of Colombia-based Cementos Argos S.A.

The deal added four large Argo USA cement plants and other facilities to Summit's portfolio, earning the company a place among the top four cement producers in the nation. Summit spent $1.2 billion in cash and used 54.7 million shares of Summit Materials stock worth just over $2 billion.

Summit has completed more than 80 acquisitions since it was founded in 2009, according to the company's website.

The company notched $2.62 billion in revenue in 2023, placing it as Colorado's 28th largest public company by revenue, according to previous Denver Business Journal research. Summit has about 5,300 employees.

2023 revenue