Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries Inc., the world’s second largest auto paint maker, said it has agreed to purchase Ameron International Corp.’s coatings unit for $115 million.

The Ameron unit employs about 700 people in the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand and had sales of $210 million in 2005. PPG said the deal also includes Ameron’s 40 percent stake in Oasis-Ameron Ltd., of Saudi Arabia. Ameron added that the deal should be finalized within 45 days.

The proceeds from the sale will be used for possible acquisitions to augment its three remaining units, Ameron said: fiberglass composite pipe, water transmission and infrastructure products.

“Coatings no longer fits our strategic objectives,” Ameron CEO James Marlen said in the statement. “In recent years, the financial performance of Ameron’s coatings business did not meet expectations, partly due to difficult conditions in global markets. Consolidations provided larger companies with greater economies of scale and constrained Ameron’s ability to grow.”

Shares of PPG rose $1.65 a share to $65.31. They have gained 24 percent over the past year. Pasadena, California-based Ameron jumped nearly $4 a share to close at $65.05. The shares have more than doubled in the past year.