Tata Steel today announced buying three strip product services centres in Sweden, Finland and Norway from SSAB to strengthen its offering in Nordic region.
"These acquisitions will strengthen our strip products offering to manufacturers in this region. Improving our local processing capability will significantly enhance our product offering and service levels to customers," said Tata Steel Europe's Chief Executive Karl Koehler in a company release.
The company, however, did not disclose value of the transactions.
Tata Steel would buy SSAB's service centres at Halmstad in Sweden and Naantali in Finland.
It would also acquire from SSAB the remaining 50 per cent stake in Norsk Stl Tynnplater AS, another strip products service centre based in Norway, taking its stake to 100 per cent.
These centres process strip products offering services such as cutting-to-length, slitting and recoiling. These supply steel to manufacturers in the automotive, construction and electrical supplies industries as well as to heavy and light engineering companies, the company said.
"There is a sophisticated and demanding customer base in the Nordic region which increasingly requires advanced steel products," he added.
About 180 people are employed at the three centres 50 at Norsk Stl Tynnplater, 70 people at Naantali in Finland and 60 at Halmstad in Sweden.
The European Commission has now approved the sale of these service centres to Tata Steel, it said adding SSAB would require to sell them as a condition of its takeover of Rautaruukki.
"The transactions remain subject to approval from competition authorities in Norway, Sweden and Finland, and their implementation will follow these approvals," it said.
