Australia: Shareholders in CSR have voted in favour of the company’s proposed acquisition by France-based Saint-Gobain for US$2.87bn.

CSR chair John Gillam said “The attractive value creation for shareholders arising from the planned acquisition by Saint-Gobain is a clear validation of the strategy and its successful execution by the CSR team under Julie Coates’ leadership. Organisations like Saint-Gobain don’t just casually start trading in a new country if they haven’t got a productive capacity to back up what they’re selling, so they’re looking to participate in this economy by acquiring at a very strong price.”

US: US gypsum wallboard sales grew by 1% year-on-year to 628Mm² during the first quarter of 2024. The country imported 20.1Mm² of gypsum wallboard, down by 13% year-on-year. Mexico supplied 19.3Mm² (96%) and Canada 800,000m² (4%) of imports. Meanwhile, the US exported 19.1Mm² of gypsum wallboard during the quarter, 18Mm² (94%) of it to Canada.

Azerbaijan: A delegation from Knauf met Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Ali Asadov on 6 June 2024. Trend news has reported that the meeting covered the expansion of the parties’ collaboration, among other issues.

Canada: Saint-Gobain completed its acquisition of building materials producer Bailey Group on 3 June 2024. Bailey Group produces structural and wallboard framing, wallboard trim and other systems. Saint-Gobain says that Bailey Group will enrich its full-range offer of exterior and interior solutions in Canada.