Swiss building materials company, spun off its North American operations to form Amrize, headquartered in Chicago, USA. Its market value is expected to reach $30 billion or more, according to analysts, making it the largest spin-off so far this year.
Amrize is the largest supplier of cement and the second largest supplier of commercial roofing in North America, covering commercial construction, infrastructure and residential construction. However, at present, the growth momentum of residential construction and commercial construction industry in the United States has slowed down significantly. In May, U.S. housing starts fell 9.8% from the previous month to the lowest level in five years. In June, the homebuilder confidence index also fell to its lowest level since 2022, and its third lowest level since 2012. Economic uncertainty, high borrowing costs and concerns about possible tariffs on construction materials from major trading partners have combined to cause a downturn in the construction sector.
But Amrize, which buys most of its cement and other building materials domestically, is expected to benefit if tariffs lead to higher prices for imported cement. Anthony Cordlin, director of building materials research at RBC Capital Markets, pointed out that infrastructure construction has grown due to federal and state government spending, including about $1 trillion in infrastructure bills signed in 2021. Although companies are cautious about launching large-scale construction projects due to uncertainty over tariffs and trade policies, the construction market is expected to recover as domestic manufacturing investment in the United States increases. Data center construction is a bright spot in building demand, while repair and renovation activities account for nearly half of Amrize's business, according
to Amrize CEO Jan Yenig. Holcim has completed more than 100 deals in the past six years, and Amrize is currently evaluating several deals. The construction materials market is becoming less global, with the European market focusing on sustainability because of climate regulations and the United States spending money on infrastructure and trying to encourage manufacturing investment, Yenig said. He believes that the re-industrialization of the United States will be a huge trend, and manufacturing will return.
Amrize will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the SIX Swiss Exchange.