Cemex to sell some of its U.S. assets for US$306 million

Mexico's Cemex, one of the world's largest cement producers, on Monday said it had agreed to sell some of its U.S. assets to Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua or GCC, for US$306 million.

Cemex said in a statement that the terms of deal with GCC had changed since an initial announcement in May, when the asset sales were expected to be worth US$400 million.

Cemex is aiming to sell assets worth up to US$2 billion, up from a previous goal of US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion as it tries to cut total debt by US$3 billion to US$3.5 billion during the next two years.

Cemex said it will now sell GCC a cement plant in Odessa, Texas, two cement terminals and building materials businesses in El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico.

A cement plant in Lyons, Colorado and cement terminal in Florence, Colorado are no longer part of the deal, Cemex said.

Cemex said it expects to finalize the transaction before the end of 2016 after seeking approval from U.S. competition authorities and GCC shareholders.

Citigroup is acting as financial adviser to Cemex in the transaction, Cemex said