Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Pilkington Plc, the world's second-biggest maker of glass for building, rose as much as 7.7 percent on speculation the U.K. company may become the latest construction-materials supplier to receive a takeover approach.

Possible buyers might include a venture capital firm or Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which has been buying up industrial assets, said David Taylor, an analyst at Teather & Greenwood in London. Nippon Sheet Glass Co. of Japan, Pilkington's biggest shareholder, might also contemplate a merger, he said.

Speculation about consolidation in Europe's building- materials industry is gathering pace following Saint-Gobain SA's 3.68 billion-pound bid for U.K. gypsum-maker BPB Plc, which the French company confirmed this week. Pilkington and partners control almost one-fifth of the $18 billion global flat-glass market, 70 percent of which is for windows used in building.

``With BPB having been targeted there aren't many U.K. construction suppliers left to bid for,'' said Taylor, who has a ``buy'' rating on shares of St. Helens, northwest England-based Pilkington. ``A private-equity offer is plausible. Glass is a growth business and Pilkington generates lots of cash.''

Pilkington shares advanced as much as 10.25 pence to 142.75 pence, the sharpest gain on the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of leading European companies. The stock was trading at 140 pence as of 10:36 a.m. in London. It's increased 28 percent this year, giving the company a market value of 1.8 billion pounds.

Today's gains follow a 4.1 percent advance on Aug. 30. Pilkington Finance Director Iain Lough wasn't immediately available for comment.

Auto Glass

The company is also the world's No. 1 maker of auto windshields, supplying glass for cars including Aston Martin's DB9.

Berkshire Hathaway, based in Omaha, Nebraska, may be interested in Pilkington following industrial acquisitions including the nylon carpet-fibers business of Honeywell International Inc., which Berkshire's Shaw Industries unit agreed to buy yesterday for an undisclosed sum, Teather's Taylor said.

While Nippon Sheet Glass, based in Tokyo, might be keen to pursue a tie-up to build on existing technical cooperation, it's a smaller company than Pilkington and therefore unlikely to attempt a direct takeover, the analyst said.

The Japanese company has a 21 percent stake in Pilkington, according to Bloomberg data.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian McGee in London at bmcgee3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 2, 2005 05:41 EDT