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Nippon Sheet covets Pilkington

27/02/2006

Shares in Nippon Sheet Glass rose 6.6 per cent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on forecasts of a successful takeover bid for Lancashire-based firm Pilkington.

The Japanese firm is hoping to expand operations globally to 24 nations, including China, and has already tried three times to acquire control of Pilkington.

It is expected to offer 165 pence in cash for each share, valuing the British glassmaker at $3.8 billion (2.2 billion pounds), according to analysts.

Nippon Sheet wants to increase its stake in St Helens, Lancashire-based Pilkington by a fifth.

It already owns 20 per cent.

It is under pressure to enter new markets for glass used in the manufacture of car windshields and reduce the supply of glass to liquid-crystal displays.

Nippon Sheet bid 150p a share in November and is now offering to buy Pilkington for about 23 times earnings in the year ended March 2005.

186-year-old Pilkington makes windshields for Aston Martin's DB9 sports car.

Pilkington operations in China supply glass for cars built by manufacturers such as Japan's Toyota, and Volkswagen, Europe's biggest automaker



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