Acquisition

21 Jun 2005 07:51

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain21 June 2005 press release SAINT-GOBAIN ACQUIRES OPTIMERA GRUPPEN AS, NORWAY'S THIRD LARGEST DISTRIBUTOR OFBUILDING MATERIALS Saint-Gobain's Building Distribution Sector would like to announce theacquisition, through its Scandinavian holding company Saint-Gobain Nordic, ofthe Norwegian-based distributor of building materials, Optimera Gruppen AS. Optimera Gruppen AS reported sales of NOK 4.3 billion (• 514 million) in 2004,up 11.4% year-on-year. Its commercial network is made up of 95 branches, 81 inNorway and 14 in Sweden. Optimera Gruppen AS is Norway's third largestdistributor of building materials, and the largest excluding sales generatedwith franchises. The group currently employs over 1,400 people. This acquisition enables Saint-Gobain's Building Distribution Sector, alreadyestablished in Scandinavia since 2004 through the DAHL group, to enter thegeneral trade market in Norway and Sweden. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the relevantcompetition authorities. Saint-Gobain's Building Distribution Sector reported 2004 sales of €13.7billion. It currently has more than 60,000 employees and a network of over 3,300sales outlets located in 20 countries. It is the leading distributor of buildingmaterials in Europe and its main brands are Point.P, Jewson's, Raab Karcher,Dahl, Lapeyre la maison and La Plateforme du Batiment. June 21, 2005 Investor Relations Department Mme. Florence TRIOU-TEIXEIRA Tel. : +33 1 47 62 45 19 M. Alexandre ETUY Tel. : +33 1 47 62 37 15 Fax : +33 1 47 62 50 62 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange