Regulatory press releases
SSAB has divested Finnish Plannja Oy as one of the remedies required under the Rautaruukki transaction
February 03, 2015 9:00 CET 6 min read
SSAB has divested Plannja Oy in Finland to Metehe Oy after receiving approval for the transaction from the European Commission. Both Plannja Oy and Metehe Oy are located in Joutseno and specialized in the processing, profiling and distribution of sheet steel mainly for construction applications. The transaction is part of the divestment remedies required by the European Commission for the combination of Rautaruukki with SSAB. This transaction has only a limited impact on SSAB’s financial results.
Upon the combination of SSAB and Rautaruukki, SSAB’s subsidiary Plannja AB, which processes steel sheet products, was combined with Ruukki’s construction businesses to form the new Ruukki Construction division. As part of the approval for the combination between SSAB and Rautaruukki the European Commission required the divestment of Plannja’s Finnish subsidiary, Plannja Oy.
Plannja Oy’s net sales in 2013 amounted to around SEK 200 million (EUR 22.6 million). Plannja Oy will continue operating under its new ownership and the transaction has no direct impact on the employment relationships of the company’s employees.
On July 14, 2014, SSAB received the European Commission’s approval for the combination with Rautaruukki. The approval was conditional on a commitment by SSAB to divest the following assets within what was then its Nordic Steel Distribution system and Finnish construction business: one steel service center in Sweden (Halmstad) and one in Finland (Naantali), Tibnor Oy in Finland (a wholly owned subsidiary of Tibnor AB), the 50% ownership interest in each of Norsk Stål AS and Norsk Stål Tynnplater AS in Norway and Plannja Oy in Finland (a wholly owned subsidiary of Plannja AB).
Ongoing remedy divestments will not affect the previously communicated synergy potential or the industrial logic behind the combination of SSAB and Rautaruukki.
This information is published by SSAB pursuant to the requirements of the Finnish Securities Market Act and the Swedish Securities Market Act. Submitted for publication at 09.00 am CET, February 3, 2015.