The European market leader for plastic pipe, Wavin (Zwolle / The Netherlands; www.wavin.com), has called off its planned EUR 60m takeover of the pipes and fitting activities of A.G. Petzetakis (Athens / Greece; www.petzetakis.gr) – see Plasteurope.com Web of 21.09.2006. This is despite approval of the acquisition by the Petzetakis boards in January 2007. Wavin said the financial restructuring of the Greek operation had not made the expected progress. A memorandum of understanding was signed in September 2006 and the final takeover was made contingent on the Petzetakis business meeting certain targets.

Wavin meanwhile has reported a strong start to 2007, as "the favourable market conditions" seen in 2006 continued. In particular, the company said, the mild winter and the positive economic climate boosted building activities. For the full year, it forecasts organic growth of 10-13% compared with last year, when sales totalled EUR 1.5 bn. "Barring unforeseen circumstances," the EBITDA margin should be "slightly ahead" of last year's 13.1%. A good overall performance has been seen this year in all geographic regions and businesses. Wavin operates 16 production sites, entirely in Europe, and employs nearly 6,700 people worldwide.