France's Saint-Gobain strikes agreement to buy Australia's CSR

PARIS (Reuters) - French construction materials company Saint-Gobain said it had signed a definitive agreement to buy Australian peer CSR Limited in a deal with an enterprise value of A$4.5 billion ($2.95 billion).

Saint-Gobain said it was offering A$9.00 for each share in CSR Ltd, adding that CSR's management favoured the deal.

CSR is one of Australia's oldest companies, having been established in 1855 initially as a sugar refining business, before diversifying into building products.

CSR shares last week surged when the firm said it had received an offer from Saint-Gobain.

The offered price adds a premium of around 7.4% to CSR's last share price, and gives CSR an equity market valuation of around A$4.3 billion.

"I am very confident that this transaction will result in enhanced growth and value creation for Saint-Gobain shareholders and provide attractive opportunities for both teams," said Saint-Gobain CEO Benoit Bazin.

The French company expects to close the deal in the second half of this year, and that the acquisition of CSR should boost its earnings per share within the first year.

CSR carries a A$187.1 million provision on its book, as at Sept. 30, 2023, to cover any future asbestos-related liabilities that may arise from the company's sale of asbestos-related products in the past.

($1 = 1.5263 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Tassilo Hummel)