James Hardie pays $600 million of debt down by quitting Europe entirely
Holcim is paying €840 million cash for James Hardie's Fermacell walling and flooring business, valuing the unit at 9.5 times projected 2027 EBITDA, or 7.6 times once Holcim's promised €22 million of synergies land, according to Holcim's own release. James Hardie will wind down the rest of its European fibre cement operations entirely, redirecting roughly $600 million of proceeds to debt paydown with a target of getting net leverage below 2.0x by September 2027. The remainder funds a buyback. Nine years after buying Fermacell, James Hardie is betting its future is North American siding, not European flooring, and Holcim is happy to take the parts it doesn't want.
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