Ożarów [ɔˈʐaruf] is a town in Poland, in the province of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in Opatów county (Powiat of Opatów), historic Lesser Poland, with 4,906 inhabitants as of December 31, 2004. Its largest employer is a leading cement factory nearby. The cement factory was privatized in 1995 and, a controlling stake in the company was purchased from HCP (Holding Cement Polski) by Irish company CRH plc. Recently, one of the agents involved in brokering the transaction between HCP and CRH claimed to have paid a USD 1m bribe to make the acquisition. The results of that inquiry were still pending as of June 2005. CRH plc owns more than a dozen operations in Poland.