Berger Paints India Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has signed an agreement on April 28, 2008 for the acquisition of all the shares of Bolix S.A. (Bolix), a leading provider of External Insulation Finishing System (EIFS) in Poland, from Advent International, a global private equity group. The acquisition will be made through a wholly owned subsidiary of Berger Paints India Ltd in Cyprus.

The acquisition will be carried out at an estimated net purchase price of around 38.6 million US Dollars. The purchase is conditional upon fulfillment of certain conditions precedent including clearance by the Polish Anti-Monopoly Office. The price is subject to usual adjustments at the time of completion of the transaction.

The advisors to the transaction are Ernst and Young, India and Tomczak & Partners, Poland for Berger and Clifford Chance and CAG for Advent International.

Bolix is the largest provider of EIFS systems in the B2B segment in Poland and also exports to neighbouring countries such as Ukraine, Russia and the Baltic States. The annual turnover of Bolix exceeded 100 million Zlotys (45.5 million US Dollars) in 2007.

EIFS is a comprehensive solution for meeting both the insulation and decorative requirements of external walls of buildings. Bolix’s products, all of which are manufactured in-house, include adhesives, mortars, plasters, primers and paints. In combination with other insulation materials like polystyrene foam or mineral wool and auxiliary materials such as fibre glass meshes, Bolix’s EIFS products provide significant insulation solutions while at the same time offering a decorative finish suitable for traditional brick or concrete structures.

In the context of the attention given by European Union and other European countries to energy saving and the concerns of global warming, EIFS represents a good growth potential.

Berger Paints India Ltd is one of the largest paint manufacturing Companies in India with presence in all segments viz. ? decorative, general industrial and automobile, protective coatings and powder coatings. It is the second largest decorative paint company in India and Berger and its related companies have operations in Bangladesh, Nepal and Russia. The proposed acquisition will provide synergy benefits to Berger’s presence in the region ? both in terms of new business opportunities and regional markets. The technology and the product complements Berger?s existing businesses.

Simultaneously, Berger is also undertaking several modernization/expansion activities including expansion of solvent based paint plant and installation of resin manufacturing plant in Goa, expansion of water based paint and resin manufacturing capacity in Rishra, West Bengal, expansion of facilities in Gujarat and expansion of powder paint manufacturing capacity in Jammu. The proposed installation of automobile paint manufacturing plant in Jejuri near Pune is on track. The shareholders of Berger have recently approved issue of 20 million equity warrants on a preferential basis to the promoters/members of the promoter group at prices determined in accordance with the guidelines of Securities and Exchange Board of India.