Ahlstrom has signed an agreement to divest its Building & Wind business unit to U.S.-based company Owens Corning. The initial debt and cash free purchase price, which is subject to EBITDA adjustment, is €73 million ($79.7 million).

The Building & Wind business unit produces glassfiber tissue used mainly in flooring applications as well as reinforcements used in windmill blades. In 2014 the net sales of the business was approximately €77 million ($84.1 million) and the business was profitable. The unit operates two plants in Finland in Karhula and Mikkeli and one in Tver, Russia, employing in total approximately 260 persons. It serves markets mainly in Europe and Russia as well as in North America and Asia.

“This transaction will strengthen our balance sheet and enables us to develop other businesses more efficiently and pursue growth in areas aligned to our strategy,” says Marco Levi, president & CEO of Ahlstrom. “We are happy to have identified Owens Corning as the buyer as it is vertically integrated and has ample resources to develop the glassfiber business further. We also believe this is a good solution for the unit’s employees transferring to the new owner.”

The unit to be divested was part of the Building and Energy business area until the end of 2015, while it has been part of the Filtration & Performance business area from the beginning of this year.

The transaction is expected to be completed during the first half of 2016 and is subject to customary completion terms, such as merger clearances from relevant competition authorities.

Ahlstrom expects to book a capital gain of approximately €25 million ($27.3 million) following the completion of the transaction. The gain will not have an impact on Ahlstrom’s operating profit excluding non-recurring items.

The divestment of the Building & Wind business will have no impact on the company’s outlook statement for 2015. Ahlstrom will publish its Financial statements bulletin 2015 on January 29, 2016 at approximately 8:30 a.m. EET. From the beginning of 2016 the Building & Wind business will be reported as part of discontinued operations until the transaction has been completed.