Saint-Gobain has made good on its pledge to expand in environmentally friendly construction by snapping up Maxit, the industrial mortars business of HeidelbergCement, for an enterprise value of Euro 2.1bn.

Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, the newly-appointed chief executive of the French group, said the business was the ideal fit for Saint-Gobain’s strategy of focusing on construction markets likely to benefit from growing environmental regulations. It would double Saint-Gobain’s share of the industrial mortars business in Europe and emerging markets - estimated to be worth an annual €10bn in sales - to just under 20 per cent.

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The French industrial group announced the deal barely a day after HeidelbergCement said it continued to weigh its options for Maxit, including a market flotation.

According to other industry operators, the construction sector is under increasing pressure in the environmental battle, with buildings estimated to account for as much as 40 per cent of all energy consumed. Maxit’s expertise in the external insulation market, using a net of glass fibre made by Saint-Gobain, addressed this demand and sat neatly beside the French group’s mortars business, Weber, Mr de Chalendar said.

(LC)