Southern Star purchases concrete operations

Four recent ready-mix concrete purchases in Pulaski County totaled more than $2 million.

Southern Star Concrete Inc. of Irving, Texas, bought operations in Little Rock from Pioneer Concrete of Arkansas Inc. and Hanson Aggregates Central Inc., both of Dallas.

The transaction is part of a larger deal financed with a $45 million funding agreement from CIT Group Business Inc. of Dallas.

The Arkansas properties were subsidiaries of Hanson plc, a London-based international building materials conglomerate.

Hanson entered the Arkansas market three years ago with its $1 billion-plus acquisition of Pioneer International Ltd. of Sydney, Australia.

Pioneer came to the state with the 1998 acquisition of Gilliam Brothers Inc. of Little Rock and L&S Concrete Co. of North Little Rock.