Justice Department Requires CRH to Divest Two Tennessee Asphalt Plants
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Tennessee attorney general announced an agreement Aug. 7, 2026, requiring CRH and its subsidiary, APAC-Tennessee, to divest two hot-mix asphalt plants as a condition of CRH’s acquisition of Standard Construction.
The government said the remedy is intended to preserve competition for asphalt in western Tennessee. The announcement places the divestitures at the center of the government’s response to competition concerns connected to the proposed transaction.
Under the agreement, CRH and APAC-Tennessee must separate two hot-mix asphalt plants from the transaction through divestiture. The companies, the Justice Department said, are the parties required to carry out that remedy.
What the agreement addresses
Hot-mix asphalt is used in construction and infrastructure work, making the number of available suppliers important to companies that need material for projects. The Justice Department identified western Tennessee as the market affected by the transaction and said the agreement is designed to preserve competition there.
The Tennessee attorney general joined the Justice Department in announcing the action. The Antitrust Division described the state office as a partner in the enforcement effort, linking the federal and state response to the same regional competition concern.
The agreement is tied specifically to CRH’s acquisition of Standard Construction. Rather than permitting the transaction to proceed without a structural remedy, the announced arrangement requires the divestiture of two plants. That approach focuses on preserving competing sources of asphalt in the market identified by the government.
The central issue is the potential effect of the acquisition on competition among asphalt suppliers in western Tennessee. If ownership changes leave fewer competing facilities serving a regional market, construction companies and public-works contractors may have fewer options when obtaining materials for projects. The government’s stated purpose in requiring the divestitures is to prevent that reduction in competition.
Why the remedy matters
Regional asphalt markets can be closely connected to the cost and availability of materials used in road, building and other infrastructure work. Construction suppliers and contractors depend on access to plants that can serve their projects, and competition among those suppliers can affect the choices available to buyers.
The Justice Department and Tennessee attorney general did not present the agreement as a broad restriction on CRH’s operations. Instead, the announced remedy is limited to two hot-mix asphalt plants and is linked to the acquisition of Standard Construction.
That distinction matters for customers and contractors in western Tennessee. The government’s stated concern is not simply that the companies would change ownership, but that the transaction could reduce competition in the asphalt market serving the region. The required divestitures are intended to address that concern while allowing the broader transaction to proceed subject to the condition.
What happens next
CRH and APAC-Tennessee must carry out the required divestiture of the two plants. The Justice Department’s announcement did not identify the facilities by name, name a buyer or provide a closing deadline.
The announcement also established the divestiture requirement as a condition of CRH’s acquisition of Standard Construction; it did not state that the acquisition had already closed. The confirmed development is the agreement announced by the Antitrust Division and Tennessee attorney general and the obligation it places on CRH and APAC-Tennessee.
For western Tennessee’s asphalt market, the practical outcome will depend on how the two plants are separated from CRH and how the divestiture is completed. The government’s stated objective is to maintain competition among asphalt suppliers in the region while addressing the antitrust concern associated with the acquisition.
The Aug. 7 announcement makes the two-plant divestiture the key publicly identified condition attached to CRH’s purchase of Standard Construction.
Sources
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