Merger would create world's largest cement company

Lafarge and Holcim announced an agreement to equally merge their two companies and create the world's largest cement company. Both companies have a presence in the metro area. The merger requires the approval of shareholders from both companies and from antitrust regulators in Europe, where both companies have headquarters. The deal has a targeted closing date in the first half of 2015. The combined company, to be called LafargeHolcim, would have sales of $43.98 billion and earnings before income…