Indian steel giant Jindal Group's Jindal Steel & Power Limited, which is active in the steel, power, mining, oil and gas sectors, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Jindal Steel & Power ( Mauritius) Ltd, Mauritius (JSPLM) has decided to acquire Oman-based Shadeed Iron & Steel Co. LLC (Shadeed).
According to a JSPLM statement to the stock exchange, a definitive share purchase agreement (SPA) and other transaction documents have been signed with a takeover price of US$464 million including the assumption of liabilities. The company has tied up US$400 million in debt financing from international banks and the balance will come from internal accruals, JSPLM said.
"This is a tremendous acquisition for JSPL as the facility is engineered by Kobe Steel (Japan) and Midrex (USA), leaders in the field of direct iron technology, and JSPL believes the facility can be made operational within a year," the company commented.
Pointing out that JSPL recently acquired several coal and iron ore mines in Africa and Bolivia, the company said, "There is a strong demand for steel in the Middle East and North African countries, with a supply shortfall estimated to be over 15 million mt."
The statement added Shadeed is installing a 1.5 million mt per annum gas-based hot briquetted iron (HBI) plant at Sohar Industrial Port area of Sohar, Oman which will help meet this demand.