Belgian co buys two city steel firms

MUMBAI: In One of the rare instances of a reverse flow of investment in the steel industry, Belgium’s Cockerill Maintenance & Ingenierie on Wednesday said it has agreed to buy two Mumbai-based steel companies, Flat Products and NT Strips. So far, Indian companies have been in the forefront of buying or investing in steel assets overseas. The transaction is together valued at Rs 160 crore.

The Belgian engineering conglomerate is buying the 55% stake held by the Mehta family in Flat Products and has made an open offer at Rs 517 per share. The scrip of Flat Products, which last year posted a revenue of Rs 530 crore, on Wednesday gained 2.2% to close at Rs 491.10 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. NT Strips, an unlisted company, is part of Flat Products.

“It is an exciting combination as Flat Products is a perfect complement to our strategy,” said CMI president Jean-Marc Kohlgruber. Flat Products makes galvanising lines and has set up mills for Tata Steel and the JSW Group. Since CMI isn’t present in low-end galvanising, the move would complete CMI’s portfolio.

“It is also part of a new trend, where steel companies want to be closer to their manufacturing locations than to their markets,” said Flat Products advisor Raman Madhok.