MILWAUKEE, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE: AOS) announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice favorably concluded its antitrust investigation into the company's proposed acquisition of GSW Inc., a Canadian-based manufacturer of water heaters and building products. A. O. Smith will seek to complete its due diligence review, secure approval under the Investment Canada Act, and conclude its negotiations with the majority shareholders of GSW. The company expects to complete this process by the middle of February and, if successful, close this transaction around the end of the first quarter. GSW, with 2004 sales of approximately $580 million (Canadian), is comprised of two business segments -- water heating and building products. The water heating segment manufactures and markets water heaters sold in the U.S. and Canada through its American Water Heater Company and GSW Water Heater subsidiaries. The water heater segment reported sales of approximately $540 million (Canadian) in 2004. GSW's Building Products business, with 2004 sales of approximately $40 million (Canadian), manufactures and markets vinyl rain ware systems primarily for North American retail customers. The company employs over 1,700 people at its three operating divisions in Canada and the United States. GSW is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols GSW.a and GSW.sv.b. A. O. Smith Corporation, with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis., is one of America and China's largest manufacturers of water heating equipment and is also one of North America's largest manufacturers of electric motors, with a comprehensive line of hermetic motors, fractional horsepower alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) motors, and integral horsepower motors. The company had consolidated 2004 sales of approximately $1.7 billion and employs approximately 17,000 people worldwide. DATASOURCE: A. O. Smith Corporation CONTACT: Media, Mark A. Petrarca, +1-414-359-4100, or analyst/investors, Craig Watson, +1-414-359-4009, both of A. O. Smith Corporation Web site: http://www.aosmith.com/

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