Owens Corning And Saint-Gobain Create 'OCV Reinforcements'

On July 27, 2006, Owens Corning and Saint-Gobain jointly announced that they were in discussions to merge their respective reinforcements and composites businesses, thereby creating a global company in reinforcements and composite fabrics products, with worldwide revenues of approximately $1.8 billion (€1.5 billion) and 10,000 employees.



The agreement signed on February 20, 2007 contemplates that the joint-venture will be owned 60 percent by Owens Corning and 40 percent by Saint-Gobain. After a minimum of four years, Saint-Gobain will have the option to sell its 40 percent stake to Owens Corning, and Owens Corning will have the option to buy Saint-Gobain’s stake in the joint-venture.



The Owens Corning Saint-Gobain joint-venture will present significant opportunities for synergies. These are expected to come primarily from scale benefits in purchasing and procurement; operational and technological plant improvements; improved distribution costs; reduced administrative costs; and asset management optimization.



The transaction, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of both parent companies, is expected to close in mid-2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions, and regulatory and antitrust approvals.