St-Gobain plans to list Verallia
France’s Saint-Gobain plans to brave tough conditions in the European market for initial public offerings and list its glass packaging unit in order to focus on home and construction products. The glassmaker said it would sell 40 per cent of Verallia to investors, raising up to €958m (£855m). It could raise the amount to 46 per cent if demand was strong enough, leading to proceeds of as much as €1.1bn. Verallia, which makes bottles and jars for food and drink products, said it would extend its business into emerging markets and look at acquisitions there as it grapples with slow recovery in its European markets.