Finland-based stainless steel producer Outokumpu has announced the completion of the acquisition of the Italian stainless steel distributor SoGePar from the Borromeo family, the agreement for which was signed on April 23, 2008.
For the acquisition Outokumpu paid €215 million in cash and assumed company debts to the tune of €120 million.
SoGePar operates stainless steel service centers in Castelleone in Italy and in Rotherham in the UK. Additionally SoGePar has stock operations in Italy, the UK, Belgium, Finland, France and Ireland, as well as a commercial office in Germany and a representative office in Turkey. Sales of the SoGePar Group in 2007 amounted to €560 million, its operating profit reached €44 million and deliveries totaled 134,000 mt.
The acquisition will allow Outokumpu to better serve its customers through the expanded service center network, to expand its customer base and positively develop end-user and project sales which in turn should bring more stability.
Following the SoGePar acquisition and with its ongoing service center investments, Outokumpu plans to increase its global annual stock and processing capacity from the current 300,000 mt to more than 740,000 mt by 2010.