USG To Sell Its Interest In Knauf-USG Joint Venture

(RTTNews) - USG Corp (USG), a building products company, on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell its interest in the Knauf-USG Joint Venture to Knauf Aquapanel GmbH for about €48 million cash.

The closing of the sale is expected to take place by the end of 2015.

The Knauf-USG Joint Venture manufactures Aquapanel brand cement panels throughout Europe (excluding Turkey) and all countries that were part of the former Soviet Union.

USG's equity method income in the Knauf-USG Joint Venture amounted to $2 million for the year ended December 2014. Upon the close of the transaction, USG anticipates recording a $3 to $7 million gain on the disposition.

"While our partnership with Knauf in Europe has been successful, our strategic focus lies on strengthening the core of our North American operations and growing our USG-Boral business in Asia and Australasia," said CEO James Metcalf. "We plan to use the proceeds from the sale to pay down debt."