German cement maker Heidelberg Cement has agreed to buy Britain's Hanson for £8 billion (€11.7 billion) to create the world's second-largest company in construction materials.
The cash offer of 1,100 pence per share would be the biggest takeover in the sector and creates a building materials company with a market value of €25 billion.
The combination of the world's fourth-largest cement maker and biggest aggregates specialist will have revenues of around €15 billion and more than 70,000 employees, the two firms said.
The deal also marks the departure from the stock market of the name Hanson, once one of the world's largest conglomerates.
