Saint-Gobain launches sale of glass bottle maker Verallia - sources

FRANKFURT, Jan 16 (Reuters) - French building materials group Saint-Gobain is launching the sale of its European glass bottle maker Verallia in a potential 3 billion euro ($3.45 bln) deal, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The deal comes after the French group sold Verallia's U.S. operations to Irish Ardagh for $1.7 billion, and amid a messy takeover situation for Saint-Gobain in Switzerland.

Plans by Saint-Gobain to spin off the whole of Verallia, which makes jars for Nutella spread and bottles for Dom Perignon champagne, were shelved in 2011 when markets were rocked by the deepening euro zone debt crisis.

The sale of the remaining Verallia business, which is being organised by JP Morgan and BNP Paribas (Xetra: 887771 - news) will likely be launched in late February or in March, the people said. ($1 = 0.8687 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Victoria Bryan)