Singapore (Platts)--11Mar2011/832 am EST/1332 GMT
Russian steelmaker MMK said Friday it would buy all outstanding shares in MMK-Atakas, an electric arc furnace steel mill in Turkey with a production capacity of 2.3 million mt/year, for a total of $485 million. The shares, which represent 50% percent minus one share, are owned by the Atakas family. At the moment, the $2.1 billion complex operates an electric arc furnace, a cold-rolling facility, a hot-dip galvanizing unit and a color coating line in Iskenderun, as well as two service centers in Iskenderun and Istanbul. It also includes a sea port capable of taking ships up to 100,000 dwt. The plant's output is expected to hit 800,000 mt/year of steel products this year. "Consolidation of the 100% control in MMK-Atakas by MMK is part of the MMK strategy aimed at establishing the MMK Group presence on the key and rapidly growing markets in Russia and Middle East, primarily in Turkey," said MMK chairman Victor Rashnikov. "Consolidation will ensure more efficient management of the company and help capitalize on the promising Turkish market for flat rolled products," he added.--Julien Hall, julien_hall@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Steel Markets Daily. See more information at http://bit.ly/SteelMarketsDaily