French building materials supplier Saint-Gobain said it planned to buy a controlling stake in construction chemicals group Sika for around €2.3 billion ($2.83 billion) and was putting its glass packaging unit Verallia up for sale.

Verallia is a world leader in glass packaging and employs around 10,000 people and has
industrial plants in 13 countries.

In 2013, the company reported sales of €2.45 billion (2.99 billion) excluding Verallia North America.
 
On the Sika transaction, St Gobain said the deal must be cleared by antitrust authorities. It is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2015, the company said in a statement.-Reuters