Jindal Steel & Power Acquires Oman Steel Company

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., (JSPL) through its Jindal Steel & Power subsidiary, has acquired the steel company Shadeed Iron & Steel Co. LLC, which is based in Oman. The cost of the acquisition was $464 million.

In making the acquisition, India-based JSPL notes that the deal is an excellent fit. The Shadeed facility is engineered by Japan-based Kobe Steel and the direct reduced iron company Midrex, which based in the United States. The company hopes to have the facility operational within a year. The technology being used at the Shadseed facility is the same technology JSPL will be using in its Orissa facility.

In making the acquisition, Jindal adds that the acquisition comes as a major step in its international strategic expansion, which recently acquired several coal and iron ore mines in Africa and Bolivia. The company adds that there is a strong demand for steel in the Middle East and North African countries, with a supply shortfall estimated to be more than 15 million metric tons.

Shadeed is installing a 1.5 million metric tons per year gas-based Hot Briquetted Iron plant in the Sohar industrial port area of Sohar, Oman that is expected to help meet the growing demand.