- BMO Underwrites First Major Financing Deal since Liquidity Crisis -
TORONTO, ON (May 7, 2009) – Coco Paving Inc., a leader in the heavy road construction business, today confirmed its acquisition of the Ontario and Quebec asphalt and paving construction operations of Lafarge Eastern Canada.
Upon completion of the deal, Coco Paving will grow to 40 locations and add over 1,000 new employees to its base of 200 in Windsor, Ontario. The acquisition includes 31 asphalt plants in Ontario, 2 in Quebec and additional regional offices. Financing for the deal was underwritten by the Bank of Montreal and the transaction is expected to close the first week of June.
“Coco Paving is poised for growth and could not pass up the opportunity to become a much bigger player in the paving industry,” said Jenny Coco, CEO of Coco Paving. “While a lot of companies are retrenching, we’re positioning our company within Ontario to take full advantage of unprecedented infrastructure developments.”
“The plants we will acquire will give us a much stronger position from which to compete for more municipal contracts in the GTA and in Eastern Ontario as far as Ottawa, not to mention our power base of South Western Ontario.”
The acquisition will make Coco Paving the largest asphalt producer and road paving contractor in Ontario. In terms of size of business, Coco Paving has traditionally focused on a small number of large-scale projects. Its current largest project is a $94.7 million contract with the Ministry of Transportation for road construction on Highway 401 in the Windsor area.
“It’s a good news story, which is a fresh change from the doom and gloom of the business pages these days. This is a win-win situation for Coco and Lafarge because no jobs are being lost in the deal,” added Rocky Coco, President of Coco Paving.
While Coco Paving’s regional business operations will remain in Windsor, the company’s new head office will be located in Toronto to make the integration as smooth as possible and to build for the future.
“We are opening an office in Toronto in order to be closer to our customers, suppliers and partners,” said Jenny Coco. “No jobs in Windsor will be affected by this decision. In fact, this transaction strengthens our already vibrant business in Windsor.”
About Lafarge
The Lafarge Group is the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in all of its businesses: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete and Gypsum. Lafarge is active in 76 countries and employs 90,000 people. Lafarge North America Inc. (“Lafarge North America” or "Lafarge"), a Lafarge Group company, is the largest diversified supplier of construction materials in the United States and Canada.
For more information about Lafarge North America Inc., please visit www.lafarge-na.com.
About Coco Paving
Since 1964 Coco Paving has been constructing concrete curbs and roads in Windsor and Essex County. The company is privately owned and operated by the Coco family, its founders William and Nina Coco together with their children Rock Anthony Coco, P. Eng., serving as President and Jenny Coco, MBA, as the CEO.
To complement Coco Paving’s success in infrastructure servicing they own and operate a concrete pipe manufacturing facility and dock facility for the importing of aggregate materials. In addition, the family has become recognized as a leading development company specializing in “big-box” commercial shopping centres, as well as residential development in Windsor and Essex County.
For more information about Coco Paving, go to www.cocopaving.com.
For information on the Coco Group of Companies and the acquisition, go to www.cocogroup.com.
Coco Paving press contact:
Andrew Findlater
findlater@veritascanada.com
(647) 205-4744
Lafarge press contact:
Stephanie Lincourt
stephanie.lincourt@lafarge.com
011+33 (0)1 44 34 19 47