31 August 2011 - Gide Loyrette Nouel legal counsel to Wolseley plc on the sale of Brossette to Saint-Gobain:

On 25 July 2011 Wolseley plc (“Wolseley” or “The Group”), a group listed on the London Stock Exchange, announced that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Saint-Gobain with a view to the sale of Brossette.

Gide Loyrette Nouel is advising Wolseley on this proposed disposal which should complete for consideration of approximately EUR 186 million once the transaction has received clearance from the relevant competition authorities.

Brossette is Wolseley 's specialist plumbing and heating distribution business in France and enjoys an excellent reputation with the trade sector. It operates 361 branches in the country with 2,650 employees. In the year to 31 July 2010 it achieved sales of EUR 714 million, i.e. around a third of the Wolseley’s total sales in France.

Wolseley is the largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials to the professional market in North America, the UK and mainland Europe. The Group recorded sales in the year to 31 July 2010 of GBP 13.2 billion and operates in 25 countries with 47,000 employees.

Gide Loyrette Nouel's team in Paris was led by Nadège Nguyen (partner) and Edgard Nguyen for M&A aspects.

Wolseley was also advised on competition law matters by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris with a team led by Maria Trabucchi (partner) and Jérôme Fabre (counsel).

Saint-Gobain was assisted by the Paris office of Clifford Chance with a team led by Mathieu Rémy (partner) and Sue Palmer (counsel) for M&A issues, and Patrick Hubert (partner) and Katrin Schallenberg (counsel) for competition law aspects.