The Ukrainian Interpipe group, among the largest global producers of steel pipes, controlled by billionaire Victor Pinchuk – the second richest in Ukraine – took over the ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Roman factory in Romania. Interpipe reportedly signed the agreement for the acquisition in December, according to Profit.ro.

ArcelorMittal Roman is Interpipe's first acquisition of a production unit in the European Union and internationally, marking a milestone described as historic in the group's development.

ArcelorMittal is a pipemaker located in Roman, in the northeastern part of the country, and currently employs some 300 people. It is one of the third pipemakers previously owned by the ArcelorMittal group in Romania.

According to official releases, it reported RON 365 million (EUR 73 million) in 2024, down from RON 616 million in 2022. The company reported losses in 2023 and 2024 (RON 42 million in 2024) after temporarily achieving breakeven in 2021 and some profit in 2022.

The transaction comes shortly after Metinvest, the largest Ukrainian steel producer, controlled by Rinat Akhmetov, the richest man in Ukraine, completed the acquisition of ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Iasi.

ArcelorMittal's third tubular products factory in Romania, located at Hunedoara, is in the process of being taken over by local company UMB Steel, part of the UMB group, controlled by Dorinel Umbrărescu. The agreement was signed in February. 

ArcelorMittal, the largest steel producer in Europe, is thus exiting Romania, after 25 years on the local market. The multinational entered the Romanian market in 2001, with the acquisition of Romania’s main integrated steel mill (known as Sidex) located in Galați, later sold in 2019 to the British group Liberty House, controlled by Indian-origin billionaire Sanjeev Gupta. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Hrishchenko Oleksandr/Dreamstime.com)