CEMEX, Global Competition in a Local Business

During the 1990s, CEMEX went from being a purely domestic producer of cement and ready mix in Mexico to the third largest firm in the rapidly globalizing cement industry, with operations in North and South America, Western Europe, and Southeast Asia, as well as a large trading operation. The company’s rapid expansion continued in the first part of the next decade with bold moves into the U.S. and the U.K. This case describes CEMEX’s major acquisitions and its process of post-merger integration. It also looks at CEMEX’s expansion strategy, as well as the company’s efforts to diversify geographically and achieve a more vertically integrated business model.