Dublin-based CRH is in advanced talks to acquire competitor Arcosa in what would be the Irish group's largest takeover to date. An agreement could be reached as soon as next week, though sources warn that ongoing discussions remain fluid. This move follows CRH's strategy of shifting its listing to New York to capture higher valuations.

Dallas-based Arcosa currently holds a market capitalization of nearly $7bn, but the total cost of the acquisition would exceed $8bn when including debt. Arcosa generates about $2.9bn in sales and employs over 6,000 people. Its stock price has already climbed more than 12 per cent over the last month as news of the deal leaked.

Integrating Arcosa allows CRH to expand its portfolio into engineered structures for telecom towers and power utilities. This expansion complements its existing aggregate and crushed concrete business, positioning the company to capitalize on US infrastructure spending. This acquisition would surpass the €6.5bn paid in 2015 for cement assets from Holcim and Lafarge.

CRH now leverages its $74bn market value to aggressively scale its North American presence. By absorbing a competitor with specialized construction products, the company diversifies its revenue streams across multiple industrial segments. The deal effectively scales its capacity to handle large-scale US infrastructure projects.