Tarmac (company) sale of £285 million worth of British assets to Mittal Investments. In December 2012, Anglo American's Tarmac unit became Hope Ready Mixed Concrete Limited, whilst Lafarge's assets became Hope Cement Limited. The deal was completed in January 2013 with the creation of Hope Construction Materials. The merger was completed in March 2013, following receipt of necessary approvals from the Competition Commission. Lafarge Tarmac bought Tarmac Building Products from Anglo American in April 2014. Also in April 2014, Lafarge announced it was merging with Switzerland based cement giant Holcim Ltd., to form the world's largest cement producer, LafargeHolcim. Three months later,
The Fine Art of Surfacing around America leading up to "The Fine Art of Surfacing", drumming up publicity for the band in the States. During this time the Rats learned much about both American life and breaking into the American music market. This is a recurring theme on the album, sometimes taking a serious approach in looking at American society, in songs like "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Diamond Smiles," while other times looking at it in a downright silly and mocking manner in songs like "Nothing Happened Today" and "Having My Picture Taken," the album takes aim at 1979 life in classic punk style.