Gypsum industry news

Israel: Israel Chemicals (ICL) is selling its gypsum, pharmaceutical and cosmetics (PCG) business to One Rock Capital Partners for an estimated US$50m.

The sale of the PCG business units is part of ICL's 'Next Step Forward' strategy to divest its non-core businesses to focus on its core businesses in the agriculture, food and engineered materials markets. Israel Chemicals Performance Products' gypsum business is mostly in the UK and focuses on dental applications.

France/Switzerland: Saint-Gobain has said that the validity of its agreement with the Burkard family for the acquisition of the shares in Sika has been extended to 30 June 2016, with an option to further extend the agreement.

French construction material producer Saint-Gobain and the Burkard family decided to change their agreement on the sale of the shares of Schenker-Winkler Holding (SWH), which holds the majority of the voting rights in Sika, and to extend the validity of the agreement, the French group said in a statement. Holding company SWH owns a 16.1% stake in Sika and 52.4% of the voting rights.

"Under no circumstance can Saint-Gobain be forced to purchase the shares of SWH if its stake in Sika would not represent the majority of the voting rights or if such acquisition would trigger the obligation to launch a mandatory offer to all Sika shareholders," the company said in a statement.

In December 2014, Saint-Gobain had announced its intention to buy this stake for Euro2.6bn, thus acquiring control over Sika.

US: Gypsum Management and Supply Inc (GMS) has made a strategic entrance into the California and Hawaii markets by acquiring San Diego-based J&B Materials Inc and its affiliated Hawaiian operation, Pono Building Materials LLC.

"We are pleased to bring J&B Materials and Pono Building Materials into the GMS family," said Mike Callahan, president of GMS. "Their commitment to delivering exceptional service, knowledgeable personnel and an expansive product suite with a focus on safety fits well within our culture. This partnership provides us with an excellent opportunity to expand our service area into California and Hawaii while enhancing our West Coast coverage."

J&B Materials has locations in El Cajon, Escondido, Riverside and El Centro in California and one in Honolulu, Hawaii. J&B offers a wide variety of building products including wallboard, stucco, lath and plaster and fasteners among others.

Don Taylor, the GMS vice president of operations for the western region, sees the acquisition as a key step in growing the GMS footprint in California and the whole southwestern US. "We feel that J&B, with its exceptional customer relationships and strong brand name, will be a key component to further expansion. With Bob and Jeff Young joining our team, this will give us the additional management depth to continue our growth," said Taylor.

US: Gypsum Management and Supply (GMS) has signed an agreement to acquire Ohio Valley Building Products based in Wheeling, West Virginia. Ohio Valley Building Products, which supplies wallboard, ceiling products and insulation services, will be the 34th wholly-owned subsidiary of GMS. The deal marks the strategic entrance of GMS into West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.

"We are excited about the addition of Ohio Valley to the GMS family," said Mike Anderson, vice president of the northeast region. "The greater Pittsburgh/Ohio Valley market has been of key interest to us for years. Eric Bayer and his team will be key to us growing in this market in the future."

"I am very excited to join with GMS," said Eric Bayer, president and owner of Ohio Valley Building Products. "We pride ourselves on providing excellent customer service and that fits well with GMS. We cannot wait to get started."

Canada/US: HIG Capital, a global private equity investment firm, has announced that its portfolio company Harrison Gypsum has acquired JA Jack & Sons, a miner and processor of limestone products. JA Jack owns and operates a quarry on Texada Island in British Columbia, Canada and ships limestone to a processing facility in Seattle, Washington, USA.

"We are excited about the strategic expansion of our operations into the Pacific Northwest," said Paul Harrington, CEO of Harrison Gypsum. "JA Jack not only allows us to grow outside our core markets of Oklahoma and Texas, but also significantly broadens our customer footprint and product portfolio within our expertise of mineral processing. JA Jack has had a long and successful history under the Jack family dating back to the 1940s and we will be sure to serve as great stewards of the business going forward."

Canada: Pan American Fertilizer Corp has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire Demetra Minerals, a Vancouver-based, privately-held junior fertiliser company developing agricultural gypsum products for the Cono Sur markets of Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil.

In the proposed transaction, a new seven-member board of directors will be composed of three nominees from each of Pan American and Demetra plus a mutually agreed 7th independent director. Gregg Jensen of Demetra would be appointed as president and CEO, Sebastian Cattaneo as COO and Jeremy Wright as CFO. Robert Rennie would remain as the chairman. Pan American and Demetra would consolidate all assets and debts.

Switzerland: Resistance to Saint-Gobain's offer to buy Swiss-based Sika has strengthened as a new group of minority shareholders said that they oppose the deal. Walter Gruebler, a former chairman of Sika's board, as well as other former board members, have said that they are backing the company's management in opposing the Saint-Gobain takeover attempt, Sika said in a statement. The stake held by those former board members represents 1% of Sika's equity.

"This transaction endangers the culture of a great Swiss family company that has been able to evolve over the decades and destroys value for Sika shareholders," said the minority shareholders. "Resistance, represented by the board and the management, is justified."

Sika's management and its board are fiercely fighting an agreement sealed between the Burkard family, which controls Sika and Saint-Gobain in December 2014. The family accepted an offer of Euro2.57bn for its holding company Schenker-Winkler Holding AG, one of Europe's biggest building-materials groups by revenue. The holding company currently holds 52.4% of the voting rights in Sika, but only 16.1% of the shares.

The sale would give Saint-Gobain control without having to make an offer for the remaining 83.9% owned by shareholders. The deal is unfair for minority shareholders, the management has said. Sika has said that shareholders representing more than 35% of its total capital have given their assurance that they support the board of directors in its efforts to fend off the takeover.

US: Gypsum Management and Supply Inc (GMS), a US distributor of wallboard, has signed an agreement to acquire Serrano Drywall Supply in Iowa City, Iowa. Serrano Drywall Supply will become the 11th location under Tamarack Materials, a GMS company with locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas. The deal marks the strategic entrance of GMS into the Iowa marketplace.

"We are excited about the expansion into Iowa," said Jerry Speights, vice president of the Central Division of GMS. "The combined strength of the Tamarack and Serrano brands will come together in Iowa City, presenting an exciting opportunity to service our customers."

"We are pleased to bring Serrano Drywall Supply into the GMS family," said Mike Callahan, president of GMS. "Their commitment to delivering exceptional quality of service, personnel, products and safety fits with the GMS culture. This partnership provides GMS the opportunity to expand our service footprint in the state of Iowa."

Switzerland: Sika has claimed that its controlling family no longer has the right to call an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), marking the latest twist in a Euro2.76bn takeover battle for the company by France's Saint-Gobain. The sale has been opposed by Sika's board and executives, forcing the family to call an EGM where it aims to remove executives who object to it.

Sika insists that the Burkard family, who are descendants of the company's founder, are no longer exempt from a rule that restricts shareholders' to hold no more than 5% of all registered shares. An exception was originally made because of the family's close association with the company and its assertion that it would protect it against takeovers. The company said that the voting rights of the family should be restricted to 5%.

Saint-Gobain announced plans in December 2014 to acquire the holding company Schenker-Winkler Holding AG (SWH), which is the vehicle controlled by the Burkard family. It holds 16.1% of Sika's capital and 52.4% of its voting rights. Saint-Gobain is targeting the Sika stake in an attempt to kick-start its own earnings growth.

"Now that the Burkard family / SWH have formed a group with Saint-Gobain, this historical privilege must be considered lost, together with the right to convene extraordinary general meetings," said Sika. Sika said shareholders representing more than 35% of its total capital have given their assurance that they support the board of directors in its efforts to fend off the takeover.

US: Building products distributor ABC Supply has acquired the assets of Wameling Drywall, a distributor of exterior building products, wallboard and insulation in Marcy, New York. Doing business as Gilbert Supply, the branch becomes the newest ABC Supply store and is its first in that market.

"The Utica/Marcy area is poised for growth," said Tom Kuchan, vice president of ABC Supply's northeast region. ABC had formerly been serving the Utica/Marcy area contractors from its branches in Syracuse and Schenectady, New York. "With the addition of a branch in Marcy we will be able to meet their needs more effectively and efficiently," Kuchan said.

ABC Supply is a large wholesale distributor of roofing in the US and one of the country's largest distributors of siding, windows and other select exterior building products. It has more than 490 branches nationwide.