PPG to Acquire PRC-DeSoto Aerospace Sealants & Coatings

PITTSBURGH (PROTEXT) - PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) will acquirecoatings and sealants maker PRC-DeSoto International, Inc., ofGlendale, Calif. -- formerly Courtaulds Aerospace, Inc. -- fromAkzo Nobel N.V. for US$512.5 million. Pending regulatoryapproval, the transaction should be concluded by the end of July. PRC-DeSoto is a global supplier of coatings and sealants foraircraft and sealants for architectural insulating glass units. It has manufacturing operations in the United States andEurope, as well as application support centers around the worldserving aircraft manufacturers and commercial operators. PRC-DeSoto, with annual sales of about US$240 million, employs about1,200 people. "This acquisition furthers our strategy to invest in corebusinesses with excellent growth potential and consistentearnings," said Raymond W. LeBoeuf, PPG board chairman and chiefexecutive. "We expect it to make a positive earnings contributionwithin our first year of ownership. "It will make PPG a leading supplier of coatings and sealantsto the world's commercial, general and military airframeproducers and operators, and enhance our capabilities in glasssealants as well as coatings application systems," he said. "PPGtechnologies will reinforce and expand PRC-DeSoto's well-respected product line with water-borne and clear coatings,surface pretreatment products, and chemicals management. "Our automotive sealants business should also benefit throughcross-overs in product applications, and there are obviousmarketing, distribution and certification-process synergies withour aircraft products unit, the world's leading producer ofaircraft windshields and windows," LeBoeuf added. PRC-DeSoto makes sealants in Glendale, Calif., and Shildon,England; coatings and sealants in Mojave, Calif.; glazingsealants at Gloucester City, N.J., and coatings at Gonfreville,France. Fourteen application support centers in North America,Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe support aircraft maintenanceand aftermarket customers, and three more centers are planned. PPG is a global leader in automotive, industrial and packagingcoatings, continuous-strand fiber glass, flat and fabricatedglass, and industrial and specialty chemicals, and a major NorthAmerican maker of architectural coatings. It employs about 32,000people; 1998 sales exceeded US$7.5 billion. Coatings has beenPPG's largest business segment since 1992. ots Original TextService: PPG Industries, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact: John S. Ruch of PPG Industries, 1-412-434-2445 (office),or 1-724-452-8834 (home); or ruch@ppg.com Company News On-Call:http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/711550.html or fax, 800-758-5804,ext. 711550 Web site: http://www.ppg.com

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