CRH shareholders back primary listing switch to New York from London (updated)
08/06/2023 12:27
(Updates with quotes from CRH; background on companies leaving
LSE)
By Graham Fahy
DUBLIN, June 8 (Reuters) -
CRH CRH.L shareholders on Thursday approved a plan to move
the building materials company's primary stock market listing to
New York from London, with CEO Albert Manifold predicting
"significant benefits" from the switch.
More than 95% of shareholders at an extraordinary general
meeting backed the move by the Dublin-based company.
CRH is the largest building materials supplier in the United
States and generated about 75% of its core earnings there last
year.
CEO Albert Manifold said the move would help CRH benefit
from large U.S. government spending programmes and open up tax
advantages in future mergers and acquisitions, helping it
achieve a "higher vector of growth".
"We see significant benefits by representing ourselves to be
truly an American company," Manifold told journalists after the
meeting.
"This leaves us at last on a level playing field with our
competitors over there in what is a very competitive market."
The company switched its primary listing to London from
Dublin more than a decade ago and will now de-list from Dublin
completely.
As part of the New York move, the company's shares will
migrate from premium to a standard listing on the LSE.
Britain's appeal as a global financial centre has lost its
lustre as companies, such as UK chip designer ARM, have sought
listings in rival hubs such as New York and after the country
was largely cut off from the European Union by Brexit.
British biopharmaceutical company OKYO Pharma OKYO.L in
April announced plans to scrap its London listing and move its
shares to New York while shareholders at betting company Flutter
Entertainment FLTRF.L have backed plans for an extra listing
in the United States.
(Reporting by Graham Fahy; writing by Conor Humphries; editing
by David Goodman and Jason Neely)
((conor.humphries@thomsonreuters.com; +353 1 236 1915;))