Saint-Gobain has entered into exclusive talks to sell its Verallia unit to Apollo Global private equity group for €2.945 billion ($2.819 billion). New York-based Apollo is also currently in talks with Banque Publique d’Investissement (BPI) in connection with BPI’s potential acquisition of a minority stake in Verallia. Saint-Gobain said it chose Apollo for the quality of its offer, and its support for the industrial project and for Verallia’s employees. Verallia is a global manufacturer of glass bottles and jars. It generated €2.391 billion in net sales and €230 million in operating income in 2014. It has 47 plants in 13 countries and employs nearly 10,000 people. Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain, said: “The sale of Verallia would complete Saint-Gobain’s strategic refocus on the design, manufacture and distribution of innovative, high-performance solutions for the habitat and industrial markets, on which the group continues to develop.” If the sale is agreed the deal will be subject to approval from regulators including the European Commission. The agreement should be effective by the end of the year.
