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.

Colombia: Etex has appointed Agustin Cozzi as the top manager in Gyplac, a manufacturer of plasterboards based in Cartagena. The change follows the retirement of Felipe Montes after 23 years as head of Skinco Colombit. Mauricio Lopez, who was previously a manager at Gyplac, has become the top manager of Skinco Colombit, a firm with a factory for fibre cement products in Manizales. Miguel Fernando Rangel has been appointed as Etex's new top manager at the helm of Ceramica San Lorenzo, a manufacturer of floor and wall tiles in Sopo.

Cambodia: Thai Gypsum Products, the Thai subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, has signed a joint-agreement with Cambodian company Camstar to expand its distribution networks in Cambodia. French multinational Schneider Electric also signed the agreement. The European companies hope to use Cambodian construction materials firm ISI Group, Camstar's parent company, to connect them to a nationwide distribution network of over 300 outlets and more than 100 contractors, according to local press.

Thai Gypsum Products, which manufactures gypsum used in wallboards for Saint-Gobain's Thai operations, said it saw a 'big opportunity' to expand its networks for gypsum delivery in Cambodia ahead of the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic community due at the end of the 2015.

"Thailand has been our strong establishment as well as a centre of goods distribution to neighbouring countries," said managing director Richard Juggery. "Now we see a good potential of Cambodia as the country has attracted more foreign investors and performed outstanding business growth in past few years," he added.

US: Al Mueller has joined the PABCO Building Products LLC board of managers with effect from 1 April 2015. Following Mueller's retirement as PABCO's president, he served on the Basalite Concrete Products LLC board of managers and will continue to do so going forward. Mueller gained a wealth of experience in the gypsum, roofing and paper industries, while providing leadership during his tenure as PABCO's president. His knowledge and expertise of both the industry and the operations will be a very valuable addition to the board.