St. Gobain's Building Distribution Unit Buys 6 Companies

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Saint-Gobain’s Building Distribution Sector has acquired Galvano Groothandel BV (the Netherlands), Schulte Tiefbau (Germany) and four companies belonging to the Norman group (Channel Isles).

Galvano Groothandel BV is a plumbing-heating wholesaler in the Netherlands. With estimated sales of 84 million euros in 2006, the company has 177 employees. Through this acquisition, Saint-Gobain Building Distribution establishes a foothold on the Dutch distribution market for plumbing-heating products and strengthens its European Division dedicated to this market.

Germany’s specialist civil engineering distributor, Schulte Tiefbau operates 13 branches specializing in water supply. With sales of 62 million euros in 2006, the company employs 150 people. By strengthening its Civil Engineering activity in Germany, Saint-Gobain Building Distribution continues to develop this specialist sector in Europe. The completion of the acquisition is subject to the clearance from the relevant competition authorities.

The four companies in the Norman group employ 276 people in 4 branches (3 in Jersey, 1 in Guernsey). In 2006, these companies together totaled an estimated turnover of 51.5 million euros. This acquisition enables Saint-Gobain Building Distribution to establish a foothold in the Channel Islands.

Those acquisitions, adding close to 200 million euros in sales on a yearly basis, illustrate the strategy of Saint-Gobain’s Building Distribution Sector to growth by bolt-on acquisitions.

In 2006, Saint-Gobain’s Building Distribution Sector had sales of 17.5 billion Euros. Its 67,000 employees work in a network of over 3,700 sales outlets in 24 countries.