AGREEMENT REGARDING THE SALE OF SAINT-GOBAIN STRADAL


Saint-Gobain has signed an agreement regarding the sale of its subsidiary Saint-Gobain Stradal to the CRH Group.

Saint-Gobain Stradal designs, manufactures and sells concrete products for exterior fittings used in gardening and landscaping, road construction and utilities, and the rail and funeral industries.

Stradal and its subsidiary SAE Béton, which it acquired in January 2005, reported sales of €180 million in 2004, and presently have more than 1,000 employees based at 24 plants.

Stradal, which joined the Saint-Gobain Group in 1996 at the time of the acquisition of Poliet (Point. P and Lapeyre), caters almost exclusively to the French market and therefore does not fit into the Group's strategy of expanding its international presence.
Saint-Gobain accepted CRH's bid for Stradal, as it felt CRH had the investment potential and strategy to guarantee Stradal's continuing position as a major player in its sector.

CRH is an international building materials group formed in Ireland in 1970 through the merger of Irish Cement and Roadstone (aggregates). CRH has over 60,000 employees based in 24 countries and reported sales of close to €13 billion in 2004.

This transaction is to be submitted to the French competition authorities for approval.

May 26, 2005