Lafarge, Holcim in $50-bn-plus merger talks.

The world's two largest cement makers, Lafarge and Holcim, said they were in merger talks, flagging what could be Europe's biggest tie-up of the year creating a company with a stock market value of over $50 billion.

The discussions are 'based on principles consistent with a merger of equals', Paris-listed Lafarge said in a statement. The company said no agreement had yet been reached with Switzerland's Holcim and there was no guarantee of a deal, but said there was a 'strong complementarity' and 'cultural proximity' between the two.

BS