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A specialist trader works at the post where Martin Marietta Materials is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

SummaryCompaniesMartin Marietta to fund the deal with $7 billion cash and $6.5 billion in sharesThe Berghmans family would own roughly 15% of Martin Marietta after ​deal closesThe transaction would add 2 billion tons of limestone ‌reserves in Sun Belt corridorsJune 29 (Reuters) - Martin Marietta Materials (MLM.N), opens new tab said on Monday it would merge with limestone supplier Lhoist North America in a cash-and-stock ​deal worth $13.5 billion, as the building material firm looks to tap growing demand ​for lime products.

Shares of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company were ⁠down about 3% in premarket trade.

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Martin Marietta will use a mix of $7 billion ​in cash along with shares valued at $6.5 billion to fund the deal, ​the company said. It expects to realize about $85 million in annual run-rate cost synergies.

Martin Marietta CEO Ward Nye said demand for high-quality lime products is expected to remain resilient for ​decades to come, due to investment in infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, energy development and industrial ​expansion in the U.S.

There has been a surge in dealmaking in the U.S. building-products industry as the ‌data center ⁠construction business booms, along with new housing, repairs and renovations.

Last week, Ireland's CRH (CRH.N), opens new tab said it would acquire Arcosa (ACA.N), opens new tab in an all-cash deal valued at about $8.5 billion, in a bid to capitalize on rising demand for U.S. energy and utility infrastructure.

Lhoist's ​Berghmans family - which ​owns the privately ⁠held Lhoist Group, a Belgian industrial company - would own roughly 15% of Martin Marietta upon the deal's close.

The transaction would ​add quarries, production facilities, distribution terminals and 2 billion ​tons of ⁠limestone reserves in Sun Belt metropolitan corridors to Martin Marietta's portfolio.

Lhoist North America makes hi-calcium lime, dolomitic lime and industrial mineral products used in domestic ⁠steel ​manufacturing, infrastructure and heavy non-residential construction across North America.

The ​deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

Reporting ​by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Devika Syamnath

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