Volume 37, Issue 9, September 2002

NEWSNOW

Asahi Glass Company Now Owns 99 Percent of Belgium-Based Glaverbel

Japan’s Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. (AGC) announced that as of August 20 its direct and indirect shareholding in Glaverbel rose to 99.11 percent of the total number of outstanding shares. (See related stories in the March 2002 USGlass, page 14 and January 2002, page 15.)

“We are very pleased about the outcome of this transaction and we envisage to proceed with a squeeze-out offer on the remaining 0.89 percent in the near future,” said Masayuki Kamiya, corporate planning director for Asahi.

According to a news report, at the end of the public offer on May 6, 2002, AGC held, directly and indirectly, 92.11 percent of Glaverbel’s share capital. The increase in the stake, reported the release, follows an off-market transaction between AGC and two institutional investors who had not tendered their Glaverbel shares during the off period. 

Financial terms of the transaction with the two investors are the same as those of the recent tender offer. According to the release, AGC paid 140.86 Euro (approximately $138 USD) per share for the 7 percent. This is equal to the price per share offered in the tender offer (145 Euro, approximately $142 USD ) minus the gross amount of the dividend paid in the meantime (4.14 Euro, or $4 USD), which was decided by the meeting of May 29, 2002.

 

                                      Gardner Glass Acquires Carolina Mirror's Assets

FRONTOFCORPOFFICE Gardner Glass Products has acquired the assets of its North Wilkesboro, N.C., neighbor, Carolina Mirror. Through the acquisition Gardner will maintain the Carolina Mirror trade name and brand name, and will operate the acquired as the Carolina Mirror division of Gardner Glass Products. The deal was closed August 13, and the company purchased assets only.

Tommy Huskey, president and chief executive officer of Gardner, said the company had been considering the purchase for five or six months. “The Carolina Mirror brand name in the marketplace is recognized as a quality consumer brand. We saw it as a strong addition to our brand-building campaign with our Dreamwalls™,” he said. “We believe the market for glass products is growing and the consumer demand for our branded mirror and wall décor products is growing. We have set the stage for the future with good profits and we need to continue our branding strategy in order to get even stronger.”

According to Huskey, other reasons the venture was an attractive opportunity for Gardner include the proximity of Carolina’s facility to Gardner’s (the properties are adjacent) and the added machinery and equipment.

Huskey added that there were a lot of good people working for Carolina that would be an asset to the company. “As of today we are continuing to use approximately 110 Carolina employees, in both the office and the plant, and that’s essentially the total labor force,” said Huskey. He added that the company has appointed an interim general manager, Mike Jordan. 

This is Gardner’s second venture with Carolina Mirror, as it purchased the company’s mirror distribution business last year. 

USG

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