CRH in pounds 270m Finnish move

CRH, EUROPE'S third biggest building materials company, is to spend pounds 270m buying itself a platform for expansion into Finland, the Baltic States and Russia. Dublin-based CRH has agreed to buy Finland's only cement- maker, Finnsementti, and concrete producer Lohja Rudus Oy from Sweden's Scancem AB.

In the past year, CRH has spent around pounds 425m on acquisitions which include the pounds 385m takeover of Ibstock Bricks. Analysts said that this latest acquisition should give the group a virtual monopoly in its new markets. Shares in the group closed down 2p at 1198p.