VitrA and Villeroy & Boch Talks Payoff

Suwanee, GA, May 11, 2007--Committed to strengthening its position and level of activity in international markets, VitrA has acquired a 51 percent share of the tile division of Villeroy & Boch, the world’s oldest and best known ceramic brand.

The Share Purchase Agreement signed in Istanbul on Monday, 26 March 2007 gives VitrA full management control of the production and marketing activities of Villeroy & Boch’s tile division. As a result, VitrA’s tile production capacity will increase to 350 million square feet.

Including Villeroy & Boch’s two tile plants in Germany and its plant in France, VitrA now operates eight tile plants. With this agreement, VitrA’s net ceramic tile sales will rise to €300 million and the number of its employees in the tile business to 2500.

VitrA Tiles Manufacturing belongs to the Eczacibasi Group, a prominent Turkish group with 38 companies, a combined turnover of $2.8 billion and over 8,500 employees in 2006. VitrA Tiles Manufacturing has production plants in Turkey, Germany and Ireland. The new agreement raises its production capacity to 35 million square meters and the number of its workers to 2500. In December 2005, VitrA Tiles Manufacturing acquired the German tiles producer Engers Keramik GmbH.

Villeroy & Boch is the world’s oldest and best-known ceramics band with a history dating back to 1748. Villeroy & Boch has three main business lines – bathroom suites, tableware and ceramic tiles – and an annual turnover of close to €1 billion. Villeroy & Boch combines traditional and innovative approaches and is the world’s best known ceramic brand.

In January 2006, Villeroy & Boch AG spun off its ceramic tile operations as a fully-owned subsidiary, Villeroy & Boch Fliesen GmbH. Villeroy & Boch Fliesen has two plants in Germany and one in France manufacturing 10 million square meters of ceramic wall and floor tiles a year. Employing 1000 people, Villeroy & Boch Fliesen generates an annual turnover of about €150 million.