Ukraine’s Metinvest faces shutdown at recently acquired Romanian pipe maker

The company, acquired less than a year ago by the holding company of Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov, risks shutting down, according to Ziarul de Iași.

Sources close to the business said several scenarios are being considered: preserving the business, selling it to another entrepreneur interested in acquiring all its assets, or dismantling the factory and selling the land, buildings and equipment separately. The same sources told the newspaper that the problems began a few months ago and were caused by difficulties in sourcing raw materials from Ukraine due to the war.

The takeover of the former Tepro Iași factory, later known as ArcelorMittal Tubular Products, by Ukrainian group Metinvest, controlled by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, was one of the most significant industrial transactions in the Iași economy in recent years. The deal was announced in autumn 2025 and finalised towards the end of the same year, after obtaining European approval.

The transaction involved the full acquisition of the shares in the Iași-based company, previously owned by the ArcelorMittal group, associated with billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. On November 24, 2025, the European Commission authorised the takeover, concluding that it did not raise competition concerns.

Metinvest is one of the largest steel groups in Eastern Europe, with operations in Ukraine, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The group is majority-controlled by Rinat Akhmetov through SCM Holdings Limited and operates across the steel value chain, from raw material extraction to steel production and marketing.

The first effects of the takeover were seen on the labour market. In April 2026, Ziarul de Iași reported that the factory, renamed Metinvest Tubular Iași, had launched new recruitment campaigns. The plant had approximately 200 employees at the time of the takeover, and at least 80 positions were added subsequently. However, the situation has since deteriorated.