Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced that it has agreed to buy a 28.4 percent stake in France-based pipe manufacturer Vallourec for about €955 million in order to strengthen its presence in the tubular market. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of this year. Additionally, ArcelorMittal does not plan to submit any offers for the remaining stakes.
Accordingly, Vallourec has production hubs in the US and Brazil, which will make it even more important to ArcelorMittal since they are strategic markets.
“Vallourec is a quality, high added-value tubular business, with established positions of strength in the attractive Brazilian and US markets. As a producer of premium tubular solutions, it has a critical role to play in the energy transition, producing vital products for hydrogen, CCS and geothermal applications, for which demand is expected to grow. It also has a comparatively low carbon footprint with ambitious improvement targets. We look forward to being part of the company’s future,” ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal stated.
Vallourec has a rolling capacity of 2.2 million mt per year.