SIKA ACQUIRES MAJORITY STAKE IN LEADING MANUFACTURER OF ROOFING AND WATERPROOFING SYSTEMS IN ITALY

Index is a well-established, family-owned company with a highly regarded brand and a loyal customer base. Its product portfolio consists of technologically advanced bituminous membranes for roofing and waterproofing, products for thermal and acoustic insulation, as well as waterproofing and repair mortars. The company mainly serves customers in Italy, but also in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Index was established in 1978 by Luigi Carlon, who has owned and run the company since then. To ensure a smooth transition, he will keep a minority stake and continue to contribute to the management of the company as the Chairman of the Board of Index.

Thanks to the acquisition Sika can profit from Index's know-how and expertise in bitumen technologies when further developing its business in Southern Europe and North Africa. By combining both companies' products, Sika will become a full-range supplier offering all available technologies in the roofing and waterproofing market. Furthermore, access to the broad sales network of Index will provide significant cross-selling opportunities.

Luigi Carlon, founder of Index: "I am very proud to have found in Sika a partner who will support the growth of Index. Together we will advance our market position as the Italian market leader for roofing systems, and further develop our business. Thanks to the worldwide presence of Sika, I am especially glad that Index can continue to grow and in the future bring even more innovative products to our customers."

Paul Schuler, CEO of Sika: "We are delighted to welcome the Index employees into the Sika team and look forward to expanding our joint business operations. Index is a proven industry leader and together we will hold a strong number one position in the Italian roofing market. On account of its high research and development competence, and expandable production capacity, Sika will establish the new site as its Southern European production hub for bituminous systems, with potential to also serve the Middle East and Africa."

CONTACT
Dominik Slappnig
Corporate Communications &
Investor Relations
+41 58 436 68 21
slappnig.dominik@ch.sika.com

SIKA CORPORATE PROFILE
Sika is a specialty chemicals company with a leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing and protecting in the building sector and automotive industry. Sika has subsidiaries in 100 countries around the world and manufactures in over 200 factories. Its more than 18,000 employees generated annual sales of CHF 6.25 billion in 2017.

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