Acquisition

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain
14 March 2008


                                                                  March 13, 2008

                     Finalization of the Maxit acquisition

        Saint-Gobain doubles the size of its industrial mortars business


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). 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.





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