Re Joint Venture

21 Feb 2007 07:46

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain21 February 2007 February 21st, 2007 press release Owens Corning and Saint-Gobain Create "OCV Reinforcements", The New Leader in the Reinforcements and Composites Business Toledo, Ohio, USA and Paris, France, Feb. 21, 2007 Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) and Saint-Gobain representatives jointly announcedtoday that they have signed a joint-venture agreement to merge Owens Corning'sReinforcements Business and Saint-Gobain's Reinforcements and CompositesBusiness (a part of the entity known as Vetrotex) into a new company that willbe named "OCV Reinforcements" and that will serve customers with improvedtechnology, an expanded product range and a strengthened presence in bothdeveloped and emerging markets. On July 27, 2006, Owens Corning and Saint-Gobain jointly announced that theywere in discussions to merge their respective reinforcements and compositesbusinesses, thereby creating a global company in reinforcements and compositefabrics products, with worldwide revenues of approximately $1.8 billion (€1.5billion) and 10,000 employees. The agreement signed on February 20, 2007 contemplates that the joint-venturewill be owned 60 percent by Owens Corning and 40 percent by Saint-Gobain. Aftera minimum of four years, Saint-Gobain will have the option to sell its 40percent stake to Owens Corning, and Owens Corning will have the option to buySaint-Gobain's stake in the joint-venture. The Owens Corning Saint-Gobain joint-venture will present significantopportunities for synergies. These are expected to come primarily from scalebenefits in purchasing and procurement; operational and technological plantimprovements; improved distribution costs; reduced administrative costs; andasset management optimization. The transaction, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of bothparent companies, is expected to close in mid-2007 and is subject to customaryclosing conditions, and regulatory and antitrust approvals. * * * About Owens Corning Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is a world leader in building materials systems andcomposite solutions. A Fortune 500 company for more than 50 years, Owens Corningpeople redefine what is possible each day to deliver high-quality products andservices ranging from insulation, roofing, siding and manufactured stone veneer,to glass composite materials used in transportation, electronics,telecommunications and other high-performance applications. Since the company'sfounding in 1938, Owens Corning has been a market-leading innovator of glassfiber technology with sales of $6.3 billion in 2005 and 20,000 employees in 26countries. Additional information is available at www.owenscorning.com. About Saint-Gobain Saint-Gobain Group specializes in the design, production and distribution offunctional materials for the construction, industrial and consumer markets. TheGroup is organized into five business sectors: Flat Glass, High-PerformanceMaterials, Construction Products, Building Materials Distribution and Packaging. Established in 54 countries, Saint-Gobain is the market leader in each of itscore businesses. In 2006, it achieved close to €41.6 billion estimated saleswith around 200,000 employees. Additional information is available atwww.saint-gobain.com. Saint-Gobain Investor Relations Mrs. Florence TRIOU-TEIXEIRA Tel.: +33 1 47 62 45 19 Mr. 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