Saint Gobain Or Regulatory News (COD)

25 Mar 2008 07:00

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain20 March 2008 March 20, 2008 Saint-Gobain's acquisitions in 2007 70 acquisitions representing a financial investment of €965 million for estimated additional sales of almost €1.7 billion This press release details the acquisitions carried out by the Group in 2007,particularly those that were not specifically announced at the time. It does notinclude details of the Maxit acquisition, which was announced in August 2007 andfinalized in March 2008. In line with its strategic focus of developing business on construction markets,Saint-Gobain's growth momentum continued to be boosted by bolt-on acquisitionsin 2007. More than 80% of these acquisitions were in the Building Distributionand Construction Products sectors. * * * Overview of 2007 acquisitions Acquisitions in 2007 Number of Value of (Debt) or Estimated acquisitions securities cash assumed full-year(• millions) acquired salesBuilding Distribution 53 582 (3) 1,304Construction Products 10 248 1 332Innovative Materials 7 89 (2) 61Packaging 0 (a) 46 2 0 (a) Total acquisitions 70 965 (2) 1,697 (a) This transaction does not represent an acquisition but the retention ofa 20% stake in Desjonqueres further to the sale of the Group's Flasks business. • Building Distribution: financial investment of €582 million for around €1.3 billion in estimated additional full-year sales The 53 acquisitions carried out by the Building Distribution Sector in 2007added 291 new outlets to a network that now boasts more than 4,000. The largestacquisition was Norandex, a manufacturer and distributor of vinyl sidings in theUS, representing a financial investment of €181 million for €580 million inestimated full-year sales. France - 16 acquisitions representing €98 million in estimated full-year sales The main acquisitions in France concerned specialist distributors SESCO and SRDM(plumbing and heating), Cordier (roofing) and Malet (production and distributionof ready-to-use concrete) and the builders' merchant Fabre. United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland - 8 acquisitions representing €121million in estimated full-year sales The largest acquisitions in the UK and the Republic of Ireland were builders'merchant Norman Jersey, builders' merchant Parkhead Building in Scotland;Trusses to Trust, a roofing and wooden floor specialist; ARDS Timber in Ulster;and Lonergan Hardware in the Republic of Ireland. Italy and Spain - 8 acquisitions representing €160 million in estimatedfull-year sales The Building Distribution sector acquired Vemac in Italy, a major builders'merchant in the Abruzzo region, and Discesur (Distribuciones Ceramicas SurMadrid), Spain's second largest tiling distributor. Nordic countries - 11 acquisitions representing €89 million in estimatedfull-year sales In Sweden, the three largest acquisitions were builders' merchants TrifabByggvaror, Byggkop i Vastra and Andersson Tra while, in Norway, NorgesbyggHallingdal, Bringo Bygg and BM Holveriet joined Optimera's Scandinavian network. Germany - 5 acquisitions representing €129 million in estimated full-year sales Raab Karcher's acquisitions included civil construction works specialist SchulteTiefbau, tiling specialist Jean Dern, and roofing specialists Griesinger andSchafer. Other countries - 4 acquisitions representing €127 million in estimatedfull-year sales The main acquisitions were carried out in the Netherlands (a general distributorVan Keulen based in Amsterdam, and a plumbing and heating specialist Galvano),and in the Czech Republic (tiling distributor Keramont). • Construction Products (CP): financial investment of €248 million for €332 million in estimated additional full-year sales Interior Solutions: 5 acquisitions, of which: 2 in Insulation: - FiberGlass Colombia, glass wool and plasterboard manufacturer in Colombia, - Owens Corning South Africa, manufacturer of glass wool in South Africa. 3 in Gypsum: - Scanspac, a Scandinavian plasterboard manufacturer, - In Vietnam, the division acquired the country's leading manufacturer of plasterboard, - EPD, an Algerian manufacturer of gypsum products. Exterior Solutions: 5 acquisitions - Norandex in North America (manufacturer of vinyl sidings), - 4 small-scale mortar manufacturers in emerging countries (Brazil, Turkey, Serbia and Malaysia). • Innovative Materials: financial investment of €89 million for €61 million in estimated additional full-year sales The Flat Glass Sector carried out three small-scale acquisitions in 2007,including two in the automotive industry, and one in the building industry(Estonian outfit AS Mao Klass), allowing Saint-Gobain Glass Solutions toconsolidate its leadership in this market. The High-Performance Materials Sector acquired four companies, mainly in thefield of high-performance plastics. • Packaging: financial investment of €46 million The Packaging Sector retained a 20% stake in Desjonqueres in accordance with thesale agreement signed with the Sagard and Cognetas funds in March 2007. * * * Investor Relations Department Florence Triou-Teixeira Tel.: +33 1 47 62 45 19Alexandre Etuy Tel.: +33 1 47 62 37 15Vivien Dardel Tel.: +33 1 47 62 44 29 Fax: +33 1 47 62 50 62 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange