Vitro Completes Sale of Interest in Vitrocrisa

Vitro, S.A. de C.V. has announced that it has completed the sale of its 51 percent interest in Vitrocrisa Holdings, S de R.L. de C.V. and related companies to Libbey Inc. for US$109 million. Libbey is now the sole owner of this joint venture, which was formed in 1997.

The total cash inflow of US$109 million is comprised of US$80 from the equity sale, plus approximately US$18 million of intercompany receivables and US$11 of intercompany debt. Additional to the US$11 million of intercompany debt, Vitrocrisa's total outstanding bank debt, as of May 31, 2006, stood at $62 million (US).

"We are very pleased to complete this transaction with Libbey. The sale meets two important goals: it provides us with capital to reduce the holding company debt and strengthening of our financial position, and it allows us to devote the management's energies to the maintenance and development of our core businesses, flat glass and glass containers," said Federico Sada, Vitro's chief executive officer.

"This is another in a series of planned steps that will help us take Vitro into a new era," concluded Sada.
With annual sales of US$192 million in 2005, Vitrocrisa manufactures and distributes glassware for the retail, food service, and industrial segments of the glassware industry, and is the largest manufacturer of glass tableware in Latin America.