Brazilian metal producer Gerdau has acquired the stake held by its Indian joint venture partner Kalyani Group in the local set-up that has a manufacturing plant at Tadipatri in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, for an undisclosed amount. Gerdau specialises in long steel products which are essentially used as construction materials and this is its first plant in Asia.
In 2007, Gerdau entered into a joint venture with the Kalyani group company, Kalyani Steels Ltd, to acquire SJK Steel Plant Ltd with an equal partnership of 45 per cent each while the rest was held by other investors including financial institutions. With the latest transaction in place, the Brazilian firm has almost acquired the entire balance stake and holds nearly 99.5 per cent in the venture.
Recently, the plant has started operating its blast furnace, melt shop, sinter plant, power plant and rolling mill. It has an installed capacity of 300,000 tonnes of special steel, mainly focused on the automotive market.
“As we begin our 112th year of business, starting the production of special steel in India represents our expansion to an important country,” said André B. Gerdau Johannpeter, Gerdau’s CEO.
“This move paves the way for Gerdau to come to India, cater to the domestic market and improve overall standards in the quality of steels manufactured in the country,” said Arvind Mathur, Gerdau’s executive director in India.
With more than 45,000 employees, the company has industrial operations in 14 countries, spread across the Americas, Europe and Asia, which together represent an installed capacity of more than 25 million metric tonnes of steel per year.
Gerdau is listed on the stock exchanges of So Paulo, New York and Madrid, and has approximately 130,000 shareholders, according to the company.
(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)