September 07, 2008

Ukrainian, Russian steel giants eye multi billion dollar merger deals

One of Ukraine’s leading steel groups announced a multi billion dollar merger deal with a Russian group this week while the country’s largest steel group was said to be holding continued negotiations with yet another Russian group on a big merger deal. If they go through, both deals could produce two new top 10 world steel-producing companies that would be better able to compete in a global market shaken up by consolidation.

Metinvest, the steel holding controlled by Ukraine’s top billionaire, Mr Rinat Akhmetov revealed on September 25th 2007 plans to merge with Smart-Holding a Russian Ukrainian steel group.

Meanwhile, sources said Ukraine’s largest steel producer, Industrial Union of Donbass was still in merger talks with Russia’s Gazmetal, controlled by billionaire Mr Alisher Usmanov. ISD is controlled by Ukrainian billionaires Mr Serhiy Taruta and Mr Vitaliy Haiduk.

The Ukrainian Russian deals follow the 2006 merger of Mittal Steel and Arcelor where the world’s largest and second largest steel groups consolidated into a single company.

Smart Holding represented by Russian national Vadim Novinsky was created in 2006. Through affiliated companies, the group manages a range of enterprises and assets in Ukraine and abroad.

According to a statement released by SCM, plans envision that the Metinvest Smart Holding merger will be completed this year.