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August 1, 2007

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Owens Corning acquires Saint-Gobain's composites unit

The previously announced and planned joint venture between building goods suppliers Owens Corning (Toledo, OH) and Saint Gobain (Paris, France) has been replaced by the signing of a definitive agreement for Owens Corning to acquire Saint-Gobain’s reinforcement and composites business for $640 million. The acquisition builds on Owens Corning’s position as a market leader in glass reinforcements and composites.

In 2006, the acquired business had sales of approximately $900 million, with roughly 4500 employees. With this acquisition, the expanded Owens Corning Composite Solutions business will have 42 production facilities in 16 countries. On a pro forma basis, the new Owens Corning Composite Solutions segment would have had about 9000 employees and combined 2006 sales of $2.2 billion, compared with actual reported segment sales in 2006 of $1.6 billion.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2007 and remains subject to regulatory approval. Owens Corning will divest its facilities in Battice, Belgium; Birkeland, Norway; and Huntingdon, PA, in order to address regulatory concerns related to the transaction. The Wichita Falls, TX facility of Saint-Gobain is not part of the transaction.

Saint-Gobain’s reinforcement and composites business includes 20 plants, of which 12 are for glass-fiber reinforcements, six are for fabrics, and two produce reinforcements and fabrics. The acquisition, minus planned divestitures, increases Owens Corning’s installed glass-fiber manufacturing capabilities by 500,000 tons, to a combined, installed capacity of 1.3 million tons annually.

The expanded organization will become part of the existing Owens Corning Composite Solutions segment, which will continue to be led by Chuck Dana, currently president of Owens Corning’s Composite Solutions business.—[email protected]

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