Viohalco acquires Sidenor Holdings

Belgian holding company will provide Greek steel company with capital infusion.

The board of directors of the Belgian holding company Viohalco S.A. has agreed to acquire the Greek company Sidenor Holdings S.A.

In announcing the acquisition, Viohalco says the deal will allow it to provide the Greek steel company with a much-needed capital infusion.

Viohalco SA is the holding company for a number of metal processing companies located in Europe. Its subsidiaries specialize in manufacturing aluminum, copper and cables and steel and steel pipe products. The company operates production facilities in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Macedonia and the United Kingdom.

Sidenor, the largest steel producer in Greece, operates subsidiaries that produce and sell steel products. Additionally, the company has a recycling capacity of more than 2.4 million metric tons of ferrous scrap per year, is the largest ferrous scrap recycler in Greece, and one of the largest in the Balkans.


In announcing the deal, Viohalco says the merger addresses the need for an immediate aid, and a long-term financial support through injections of capital raised outside Greece, to two Sidenor Holdings steel producing operations in Greece.

During the Greek financial crisis, the two plants accumulated significant losses, mainly because of a collapse in the country’s construction sector, which threatened the steel company’s viability and put jobs at risk. Despite recurring losses, both plants implemented investments and took targeted measures to rationalize production cost, increase productivity and enhance competitiveness. However, the lack of liquidity jeopardized Sidenor’s operations.

Viohalco says that the new capital that it will provide Sidenor will strengthen the critical but dormant production capacity, increase exports and help maintain and increase job positions at the plants, located in Thessaloniki and Almyros, Greece.

The capital infusion will include a first tranche of 25 million euros that will be drawn from Viohalco’s capital reserves.

The completion of the merger is subject to the approval of the general meetings of shareholders of both companies and the fulfillment of all legal formalities. The acquisition is expected to be complete by July 2015.