Shares of building materials maker Holcim jump as it plans to list unit in the US

GENEVA (AP) — Shares of Holcim Ltd. have jumped Monday after the Swiss-based cement and building materials company announced plans to spin off its North American unit and list its shares in the U.S. Sunday’s announcement of the listing and spinoff comes 15 months after Holcim’s French subsidiary Lafarge pleaded guilty to paying millions of dollars to the Islamic State group to keep a plant open in Syria. It agreed to pay about $778 million in penalties in a settlement with U.S. authorities. The company says the listing is expected to be completed in the first half of next year and would create a North American unit that is targeting more than $20 billion in net sales by 2030.