Cie. de Saint-Gobain is selling its U.S.-based fiber cement siding business to Plycem USA Inc., a subsidiary of Elementia SA de CV of Mexico.

The business changing hands is part of Saint-Gobain's exterior products line for the construction sector. It manufactures and sells fiber cement siding, trim and accessory products for the U.S. and Canadian residential and commercial building markets. The business employs almost 250 and has three U.S. production sites in Roaring River, N.C.; Terre Haute, Ind.; and White City, Ore.

With the pending divestiture, Saint-Gobain will focus on its vinyl and polymer shake siding cladding businesses. The sale is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2014, subject to standard closing conditions.

Elementia is a Mexican consortium of industrial and construction companies that offers fiber cement, cement, concrete, polyethylene, styrene, polypropylene and copper applications. Elementia has four divisions — metals, building systems, plastics, and cement — and a presence in more than 40 countries with about 5,000 distribution centers.

Saint-Gobain, which claims to be the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, designs, manufactures and distributes building materials. Sales in 2012 totaled 43.2 billion euros ($59 billion) for the company, which operates in 64 countries and has nearly 193,000 employees.