The cost of the transaction is €2,091 million, including €577 million in debt.
Maxit is a leading manufacturer of industrial mortars and reported sales of €1,338 million in 2007, up 8.2% year-on-year. It has 5,130 employees.
The acquisition is part of the Group’s strategy to develop its presence on construction markets, and allows Saint-Gobain to double the size of its industrial mortars business. In 2007, industrial mortars already represented €1,117 million of sales (under the Weber banner), a rise of 13.6% year-on-year, including 9.8% organic growth. The acquisition will also give Saint-Gobain a front-ranking position in new markets such as Germany and Scandinavia. The two groups have a joint presence in numerous eastern European countries and in most western European countries. Maxit has 103 plants in 30 countries, while Weber has 80 units in 27 countries.
The industrial mortars business combines strong growth in emerging countries with sustained growth in developed countries, in particular thanks to improvements in exterior insulating systems (ETICS – External Thermal Insulation Composite System) and productivity gains on building sites. Industrial mortars are inherently locally-sourced products, for which marketing and technical innovations play an important role in terms of product formulations and specifications.
In addition to its industrial mortars business, Maxit provides clay-based solutions for draining and insulating foundations, a widely used technique in Scandinavian countries.
Maxit’s addition to the Group’s Construction Products sector will unlock a large number of growth synergies with both Exterior Solutions (particularly Weber mortars) and Interior Solutions (plaster and insulation products). The acquisition is also expected to generate around €30 million in cost synergies.
The Maxit acquisition falls within the scope of the Group’s strategy to deepen its footprint in construction markets, in its unique capacity as world leader in its field, delivering innovative solutions for the key challenges of our time: growth, energy and the environment.
Saint-Gobain doubles the size of its industrial mortars business
Date: 19 March 2008
Source: Saint-Gobain
Saint-Gobain finalized its acquisition of the Maxit group from HeidelbergCement on March 13, 2008, following approval from the European competition authorities on March 4, 2008 (subject to the subsequent divestment of two small subsidiaries specializing in the production and sale of gypsum-based products with total revenues of around €40 million).