Owens Corning and Saint-Gobain said Monday they have voluntarily withdrawn their filing to the European Commission in connection with the merger of Owens Corning's Reinforcements Business and Saint-Gobain's Reinforcements and Composites Business.
Owens Corning said the move will allow the two companies more time to "better align calendars" for the antitrust approvals of the transaction with the two main agencies: the Federal Trade Commission in the United States and the European Commission. It is anticipated that the merger notification to the European Commission will be refiled in the coming weeks, Owens said.
The companies first announced they were in talks to merge their respective reinforcements and composites businesses back in July 2006. Owens Corning and Saint-Gobain announced in February 2007 that they had signed a joint-venture to merge the two businesses into a new company that will be named "OCV Reinforcements."
The joint venture will be owned 60 percent by Owens Corning and 40 percent by Saint-Gobain. After a minimum of four years, Saint-Gobain will have the option to sell its 40 percent stake to Owens Corning.
