Eu Decision On Pilkington Acquisition

Nippon Sheet Glass Co.(NSG) was given the go-ahead to buy the 80% of Pilkington PLC that it does not own by EU regulators on 7/06/06. The acquisition of Pilkington will make NSG a global leader in the flat glass industry with annual sales of about US$ 6.5BN. The EU Commission said the takeover would not pose any antitrust problems or change the structure of the EU glass market because NSG was mainly active in Japan & Asia, while Pilkington concentrates on Europe & the USA. Nippon bought Pilkington, for £1.65/share, in a deal worth US$ 3BN. Nippon must raise US$5.3BN in bank loans & a stock issue to meet the cost of refinancing Pilkington's debts & other expenses, Japan's second largest sheet-glass maker said in February 2006.