The Italian Acciaieria Arvedi S.p.
A., the country's largest producer of flat rolled products, has notified the European Commission of its intention to gain sole control over ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia S.r.l., a steel distributor known as AMCLN specializing in supplies for the automotive industry.
According to the merger notice published by the European Commission on September 17, the company intends to acquire a block of shares and thereby establish full control over AMCLN.
The Commission confirmed in the official journal that it had received notification on September 10 in case No. 12598.
Initially, ArcelorMittal planned to buy out the remaining 51% of AMCLN, which it did not yet own, but abandoned the deal after the Rome authorities applied the golden power mechanism and actually imposed additional conditions.
AMCLN distributes carbon steel flat products, including hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils, through service centers throughout Italy. The company supplies products to the automotive industry, the construction sector, and manufacturers of household appliances. Full ownership would allow Arvedi to build a more integrated chain, from factory production to the end user.
The European Commission has included the deal in the list of cases for a simplified procedure, which indicates that there are no expected serious problems with competition. Third parties can send their comments by September 27.
Acciaieria Arvedi did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Platts, a member of S&P Global Energy, the cost of domestic hot-rolled coils in Southern Europe on September 16 amounted to 725 euros per ton on delivery terms from a factory in Italy, unchanged from the previous day.
