CRH will fund the deal with cash, debt and a 9.99 percent equity placing, the Journal reported. A Holcim spokesman confirmed that the company received a binding offer from CRH, according to the Journal. The newspaper reported on Saturday that Lafarge and Holcim were nearing a deal to sell at least $7 billion in assets, citing people familiar with the matter. CRH was a finalist in an auction for the assets, competing in recent days with a private-equity consortium including Blackstone Group LP, Cinven and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Journal had reported earlier.