Hanson Agrees £8bn Sale

One of the most famous UK Business names in stock market history, Hanson has agreed an £8bn takeover by Germany's Heidelberg Cement.

Hanson began in Yorkshire in 1964 under the leadership of James (later Lord) Hanson and Gordon White and evolved into one of the world's biggest conglomerates, with operations ranging from cigarettes to bricks, batteries, chemicals and mining.

It was broken up during the 1990s, leaving just the building materials business that bears its name. Yesterday's deal combines the world's fourth biggest cement maker with the leader in aggregates. It will create the global number two in construction materials.