The Carlyle Group and Eurazeo to Acquire Terreal for €400 million

Paris, France – Global private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, in partnership with the French investment company Eurazeo, has signed an agreement with Saint-Gobain for the acquisition of the shares of Terreal, the French tiles and bricks business, for €400 million.

The acquisition will be financed through a combination of equity and debt financing. Carlyle is to acquire 60% of the company and Eurazeo 40%. The management team of Terreal, led by Hervé Gastinel, is actively supporting the acquisition and will invest in the transaction.

Terreal is one of the largest clay tiles and bricks producers in Europe, with operations in France, Italy, Spain as well as in the US and Malaysia. Terreal had revenues of €328 million in 2002 and 2,000 employees in 22 production sites.

“This is a great acquisition for Carlyle. Terreal is exactly the sort of company we at Carlyle seek to invest in - a solid company in a sector we know with strong market positions, recurring cash-flows and attractive external growth opportunities,” said Benoît Colas, a director of The Carlyle Group in Paris. “We look forward to developing the business further and building value for the company.”

Patrick Sayer, Chief Executive of Eurazeo said: “We are very pleased with this investment in Terreal, a leader in the Southern European clay tiles and bricks markets with strong resilient cash-flows. This is a sector we know well and where Eurazeo had successful investments in the past.” “In addition, this transaction in cooperation with Carlyle, highlights once more Eurazeo’s increasing presence in the French leveraged buy-out market,” added Gilbert Saada, Member of Eurazeo Executive Board.

Carlyle and Eurazeo have received commitments from ING to provide the debt financing needed to complete the transaction. Advisors to the investors are White & Case, Ernst & Young, Roland Berger and Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier. In addition, Eurazeo was advised by Shearman & Sterling and Goldman Sachs.

The transaction is expected to close in early autumn.

About Eurazeo

EURAZEO is a private and independent investment Company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange (EURONEXT) with a market capitalisation around €2 billion. EURAZEO manages over €3 billion of diversified assets and intends to redeploy its assets to operate as a private equity major player. EURAZEO has significant financial resources and an experienced management team.

Visit www.eurazeo.com for additional information.

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