Cemex slams Strabag pullout, eyes legal action

By Robin Emmott

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's Cemex, the world's No. 3 cement company, said on Friday it was considering legal action against Strabag (STRV.VI: Quote, Profile, Research) after the Austrian builder pulled out of a $435 million asset deal.

Strabag dropped its plan to buy Cemex's (CMXCPO.MX: Quote, Profile, Research)(CX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) units for 310 million euros because it did not get Austrian anti-trust officials' approval by a June 30 deadline.

Monterrey-based Cemex, which was counting on the money to help it pay back $4.1 billion in debt this year and help in refinancing talks with creditors, said the move was "invalid."

"Strabag is unwilling to fulfill its commitment as specified by the agreement between our companies," said Cemex's Chief Executive Lorenzo Zambrano in a statement.

"Cemex believes the agreement still to be valid and is considering taking appropriate legal recourse," the company said.

Cemex shares fell 3.59 percent on the news to 11.54 pesos.

Under the deal, announced last July, Strabag would have acquired Cemex's cement production and stone and gravel pits in Austria and Hungary, with total revenue of 257 million euros in 2007, the most recent data available.

Strabag won permission from Hungarian antitrust authorities but Austrian authorities' decision was still pending, allowing Strabag to cancel its planned purchase.