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Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA said late Thursday that its U.S. affiliate DBMP LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in an effort to resolve its liabilities related to asbestos claims.
The French construction group SGO, -0.99% said DBMP will seek to establish a trust to ensure that all individuals with current and future asbestos claims are treated fairly and equitably, Saint-Gobain said.
This will permanently resolve the North Carolina company’s asbestos liabilities and resolve the cash flow volatility that litigation was causing, Saint-Gobain said.
For Saint-Gobain, the stay of litigation means that all legal costs and indemnity payments related to DBMP’s asbestos claims will be suspended, and there will be no more related annual charges. As of Thursday, DBMP and a subsidiary won’t be consolidated with Saint-Gobain and their earnings won’t be included in the group’s, the company said.
Beyond that, Saint-Gobain’s finances shouldn’t be materially affected, it said.
At the time of filing, DBMP faced more than 60,000 asbestos claims, related primarily to products made or sold by CertainTeed Corp., which last manufactured products containing asbestos in 1992, Saint-Gobain said.
