LAFARGE APPLICATIONS ROUTIERES, a subsidiary of the Lafarge Group, has acquired LINEAR DYNAMICS, INC. (Parsippany, New Jersey), one of the leaders in products and equipment for road marking in the United States. This addition to its U.S. presence enables Lafarge to strengthen its international leadership position in road paints.

With annual sales of $40 million, Linear Dynamics operates a network of five plants located in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Texas. The Company produces 25,000 tons of road paint and 10,000 tons of thermoplastic coatings annually.

The DAK Group, Ltd., a merger and acquisition firm located in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, acted as financial advisor to Linear Dynamics. Alan J. Scharfstein, the president of The DAK Group, Ltd., stated: "The acquisition of Linear Dynamics by Lafarge not only adds significant incremental production capacity to its existing U.S. position but also provides the French parent company with an exceptional management. This transaction represents another example of how privately held middle market companies can make meaningful contributions to strategic acquirers in fulfilling buyers' business strategies."

Olivier Legrain, Executive Vice President of the Lafarge Group and Chief Executive Officer of the Specialty Products division, stated: "The purpose of these external growth operations in North America is a need not only to achieve a critical size, but also share expertise, especially for water-based road paints, which are highly developed in the United States but still little used in Europe, even though they constitute an unquestionable benefit to the environment.

Lafarge, S.A., the publicly traded parent (listed on the Paris Bourse) of Lafarge Applications Routieres, is a world leader in construction materials, holding top-ranking positions in all six of its core businesses: cement, concrete, aggregates, roofing, gypsum and specialty products. The parent company is active in 60 countries, employs nearly 65,000 employees and generates annual sales of nearly $10 billion.