During late June there was speculation in the market that the refractory dolomite and refractory producing business of the Lhoist Group, LWB Refractories, was up for sale. The rumours appeared to stem from a report in Belgium's De Standard which suggested that Lhoist may be attempting to separate itself from LWB. Other periodicals also picked up the story. The president of Lhoist clarified to IM that Lhoist had no immediate plans to sell LWB at present, although it would continue to evaluate the role of LWB within the Lhoist group. A report in L'Echo, however, stated that Jean-Pierre Berghmans (owner) had confirmed that Lhoist had received an unsolicited offer for its refractories division, and that UBS had been commissioned to evaluate "all strategic options."
