Saint-Gobain's Acquisitions in 2007
Thursday March 20, 4:41 pm ET
70 Acquisitions Representing a Financial Investment of EUR965 Million for Estimated Additional Sales of Almost EUR1.7 Billion
COURBEVOIE, France, March 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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 not include details of the Maxit acquisition, which was announced in August 2007 and finalized 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 acquisitions in 2007. More than 80% of these acquisitions were in the Building Distribution and Construction Products sectors.
Overview of 2007 acquisitions
Acquisitions in 2007 Number of Value of (Debt) Estimated
acquisitions securities or cash full-year
(EUR millions) acquired assumed sales
Building Distribution 53 582 (3) 1,304
Construction Products 10 248 1 332
Innovative Materials 7 89 (2) 61
Packaging 0 (a) 46 2 0 (a)
Total acquisitions 70 965 (2) 1,697
(a) This transaction does not represent an acquisition but the
retention of a 20% stake in Desjonqueres further to the sale of the
Group's Flasks business.
- Building Distribution: financial investment of EUR582 million for around EUR1.3 billion in estimated additional full-year sales
The 53 acquisitions carried out by the Building Distribution Sector in 2007 added 291 new outlets to a network that now boasts more than 4,000. The largest acquisition was Norandex, a manufacturer and distributor of vinyl sidings in the US, representing a financial investment of EUR181 million for EUR580 million in estimated full-year sales.
France - 16 acquisitions representing EUR98 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 distribution of ready-to-use concrete) and the builders' merchant Fabre.
United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland - 8 acquisitions representing EUR121 million 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 EUR160 million in estimated full-year sales
The Building Distribution sector acquired Vemac in Italy, a major builders' merchant in the Abruzzo region, and Discesur (Distribuciones Ceramicas Sur Madrid), Spain's second largest tiling distributor.
Nordic countries - 11 acquisitions representing EUR89 million in estimated full-year sales
In Sweden, the three largest acquisitions were builders' merchants Trifab Byggvaror, Byggkop i Vastra and Andersson Tra while, in Norway, Norgesbygg Hallingdal, Bringo Bygg and BM Holveriet joined Optimera's Scandinavian network.
Germany - 5 acquisitions representing EUR129 million in estimated full-year sales
Raab Karcher's acquisitions included civil construction works specialist Schulte Tiefbau, tiling specialist Jean Dern, and roofing specialists Griesinger and Schafer.
Other countries - 4 acquisitions representing EUR127 million in estimated full-year sales
The main acquisitions were carried out in the Netherlands (a general distributor Van 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 EUR248 million for EUR332 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 EUR89 million for EUR61 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 to consolidate its leadership in this market.
The High-Performance Materials Sector acquired four companies, mainly in the field of high-performance plastics.
- Packaging: financial investment of EUR46 million
The Packaging Sector retained a 20% stake in Desjonqueres in accordance with the sale agreement signed with the Sagard and Cognetas funds in March 2007.
Investor Relations Department
Florence Triou-Teixeira Tel.: +33-1-47-62-45-19
Alexandre Etuy Tel.: +33-1-47-62-37-15
Vivien Dardel Tel.: +33-1-47-62-44-29
Fax: +33-1-47-62-50-62
Source: Saint-Gobain
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