The British Glynwed International plc Group (GB-Birmingham B46 3BP; www.glynwed.co.uk) has sold its “Glynwed Pipe Systems” division to the Belgian construction-material giant Etex Group SA (B-1150 Brussels; www.etexgroup.com) for GBP 786m (around EUR 1.23bn) in cash. Glynwed Pipe Systems´ last reported profits were GBP 607.3m, with the Canadian Ipex, acquired in 2000, only being included as of August.

After selling 80% of the overall group´s business volume, Glynwed is intending to concentrate on the remaining “Consumer & Foodservice Division”. The company´s name is being changed to Aga Foodservice Group to this end, so as to highlight the most familiar brand that remains. No information was available at the time of going to press as to whether the new owner will keep the umbrella brand name “Glynwed Pipe Systems”, which e.g. the German subsidiary Friatec AG had only recently adopted.

The Etex Group is better known in many countries of the world under its old name of Eternit. The divisions of this multinational company are “Roofs”, “Plastics”, “Boards”, “Floors and Walls” and “Other Building Materials”. In 1999, the group achieved sales of EUR 2.68bn and a pre-tax result of EUR 184m. The focal points of the plastics division are drainage systems, waste water and sanitary pipes, pressurised pipes and agricultural irrigation pipes, as well as fans, profiles and injection moulded products. According to Glynwed Chief Executive, Tony Wilson, the merger of Glynwed Pipe Systems and Etex will produce a new world market leader in pipe systems.

• e-Service:
Overview of the Etex Group´s “Plastics” division (excerpt from the 1999 Annual Report) as PDF document (439 KB)