
Europe’s biggest copper smelter Aurubis won European Union antitrust approval on Monday for its planned €380 million (US$412 million) acquisition of Belgian-Spanish metal recycling group Metallo, the European Commission said.
The Commission said in a statement: “The merger would not adversely affect competition” in the copper recycling sector.
Metallo processes about 220,000 tonnes of scrap and recycling materials a year at its Beerse plant in Belgium and another 95,000 tonnes its plant in Berango in Spain.
Along with copper, Metallo produces a range of other metals including tin and lead. It processes difficult scraps with low metal content, reported Reuters.
Aurubis said separately it expected the formal closing of the takeover on May 29 and that EU approval on Monday was unconditional.
The main shareholder in Metallo is investment company TowerBrook Capital Partners. “The combination is a key milestone in the implementation of our multi-metals strategy,” said Aurubis CEO Roland Harings in a statement.
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