The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price powered through 2021 amid asset sales and a dragged-out takeover.
After ending 2020 trading at $4.95, the Boral share price grew to close 2021 at $6.10. That represents a 23.23% gain.
Let's take a closer look at what the building products company got up to last year.
What drove the Boral share price higher in 2021?
Boral ended last year with a new owner after Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) scrapped together 69.6% of its outstanding stock.
Seven Group bid $6.50 for all Boral shares it didn't already own in May. Boral's board quickly recommended its shareholders reject the bid, but that wasn't enough to stop Seven.
It upped its bid to $7.30, or $7.40 if its stake in Boral increases by at least 34.5%, the following month.
Boral's board once more rejected the offer, stating an independent expert found that its shares were worth between $8.25 and $9.13 apiece.
Nonetheless, enough of the company's shareholders voted 'yes' to Seven's takeover, seeing the investment group walking away with control over Boral.
At the time of the takeover, the Boral share price was $7.34.
Meanwhile, the building supplies company was selling off chunks of its North American businesses.
In 2021, it sold its fly ash business for US$755 million, its 50% stake in the USG Boral joint venture for US$1.015 billion, and its North American building products business for US$2.15 billion.
Including the divestment of its share of the Meridian Brick business in 2020, which saw the company with another US$125 million, its milked more than $4 billion through North American divestments.
It also sold its Australian timber business for $64.5 million.
Over the course of 2021, the Boral share price hit a high of $7.44 in July and a low of $4.77 in January.
It has gained another 2.95% since the start of 2021 to finish yesterday's session trading at $6.29.
