Boral

History

Boral was founded by David Craig on 4 March 1946 as Bitumen and Oil Refineries (Australia) Limited with Caltex having a 40% shareholding. In March 1947, it opened Matraville Refinery, Australia's first bitumen and oil refinery. In 1963, the company was renamed Boral Limited having been commonly referred to by its acronym since it commenced trading. In 1964, it purchased the Gas Supply Company with 28 coal gas companies in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. In 1968 Boral sold a 50% stake in its refining business to Total, before selling it the remainder in January 1972. In 1969, it entered the building materials industry through a number of acquisitions.

In 1979, Boral entered the United States market, purchasing a 55% shareholding in California Tile from Amalco. In February 1987 Boral purchased cement manufacturer Blue Circle Southern Cement from BHP and Blue Circle Industries. In 1990, Midland Brick was purchased.

In January 2000, Boral sold its tyre business to Bridgestone. In February 2000, Boral's energy assets were spun off into a separate listed entity, Origin Energy.

In December 2020, Boral sold Midland Brick to BGC. This followed Boral selling its bricks business on Australia's east coast in 2016.

In April 2021, Boral divested its plasterboard business, completing the process with the sale of its 50 per cent interest in the USG Boral joint venture to Knauf for US$1 billion. In May 2021, Seven Group Holdings launched a takeover offer. In June 2021, Boral sold its United States operations to Westlake Chemical.