EC extends Evraz – Highveld deal review

The European Commission (EC) has extended its deadline for the review concerning the Russian Evraz Group's (Evraz) plans to buy out South Africa-based Highveld Steel and Vanadium (Highveld) from February 6 to February 20. Although the EC did not give the reasons for its decision to extend the deadline, market players believe that potential competition problems in the market for the steel-hardening element vanadium might have been an issue. As SteelOrbis reported previously, Evraz Group filed a petition to the EC on December 22, 2006 to buy out Highveld's remaining shares from Anglo American Plc.