Toledo, Ohio, USA and Paris, France, Feb. 21, 2007

Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) and Saint-Gobain representatives jointly announced today that they have signed a joint-venture agreement to merge Owens Corning’s Reinforcements Business and Saint-Gobain’s Reinforcements and Composites Business (a part of the entity known as Vetrotex) into a new company that will be named “OCV Reinforcements” and that will serve customers with improved technology, an expanded product range and a strengthened presence in both developed and emerging markets.

On July 27, 2006, Owens Corning and Saint-Gobain jointly announced that they were in discussions to merge their respective reinforcements and composites businesses, thereby creating a global company in reinforcements and composite fabrics products, with worldwide revenues of approximately $1.8 billion (€1.5 billion) and 10,000 employees.

The agreement signed on February 20, 2007 contemplates that the joint-venture will be owned 60 percent by Owens Corning and 40 percent by Saint-Gobain. After a minimum of four years, Saint-Gobain will have the option to sell its 40 percent stake to Owens Corning, and Owens Corning will have the option to buy Saint-Gobain’s stake in the joint-venture.

The Owens Corning Saint-Gobain joint-venture will present significant opportunities for synergies. These are expected to come primarily from scale benefits in purchasing and procurement; operational and technological plant improvements; improved distribution costs; reduced administrative costs; and asset management optimization.

The transaction, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of both parent companies, is expected to close in mid-2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions, and regulatory and antitrust approvals.

About Owens Corning
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is a world leader in building materials systems and composite solutions. A Fortune 500 company for more than 50 years, Owens Corning people redefine what is possible each day to deliver high-quality products and services ranging from insulation, roofing, siding and manufactured stone veneer, to glass composite materials used in transportation, electronics, telecommunications and other high-performance applications. Since the company’s founding in 1938, Owens Corning has been a market-leading innovator of glass fiber technology with sales of $6.3 billion in 2005 and 20,000 employees in 26 countries. Additional information is available at www.owenscorning.com.

About Saint-Gobain
Saint-Gobain Group specializes in the design, production and distribution of functional materials for the construction, industrial and consumer markets. The Group is organized into five business sectors: Flat Glass, High-Performance Materials, Construction Products, Building Materials Distribution and Packaging.

Established in 54 countries, Saint-Gobain is the market leader in each of its core businesses. In 2006, it achieved close to €41.6 billion estimated sales with around 200,000 employees. Additional information is available at www.saint-gobain.com.

February 21, 2007