Saint-Gobain Buys US Construction Chemicals Co. GCP

French construction materials company Saint-Gobain (SGOB.PA) on Monday said it would buy GCP Applied Technologies (GCP.N) in a deal that values the U.S.-based specialty construction chemicals company at around $2.3 billion. Saint-Gobain said in a statement that the acquisition is a decisive step in establishing Saint-Gobain's leading position in construction chemicals worldwide, with total sales of more than 4 billion euros $4.51 billion, up from 3 billion euros. The acquisition of GCP comes around seven months after the acquisition of Chryso, another player in the specialty construction chemicals business, for an enterprise value of more than $1 billion. After the successful acquisition of Chryso, GCP is the next step to expand Saint-Gobain's presence in admixtures and additives, which provide key solutions to decarbonize the construction industry, Saint-Gobain said. The expansion opportunities in the U.S. construction sector were highlighted by the massive infrastructure plan launched by the Biden administration during a conference call by Saint-Gobain Chief Executive Officer Benoit Bazin. The acquisition will create value by year three after the closing of the transaction. Saint-Gobain will finance the acquisition through cash on its balance sheet. The company said that there are around $85 million in synergy opportunities by the year five. The closing of the transaction is expected to be done by year-end 2022, subject to GCP shareholders approval, antitrust approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.