Jindal Steel International officially becomes the new owner of VÍTKOVICE STEEL. The Office for the Protection of Competition has cleared their merger. Jindal Steel International acquired 100 percent of the shares of the Ostrava-based company by buying the shares from the previous owners. VÍTKOVICE STEEL thus becomes a member of a strong industrial group that is moving towards green steel.

In its decision, the Office for the Protection of Competition confirmed that the merger between Jindal Steel International and VÍTKOVICE STEEL will not result in a significant distortion of competition and therefore cleared the merger.

„This is a great event for the company and especially for the future. We are convinced that this will strengthen the company and the Czech steel industry. The new industrial owner will bring stability and, above all, development to the company in the form of investments in production technologies, sharing of foreign know-how and moving towards environmentally produced low-emission steel,“ said Radek Strouhal, CEO of VÍTKOVICE STEEL.

VÍTKOVICE STEEL has been cooperating with the Jindal Group for more than a year in the field of operational financing and this spring concluded a binding memorandum of mutual business cooperation on the supply of input material produced with low CO₂ emissions and minimal environmental impact. It has thus secured low-emission steel slabs from Oman in volumes of up to one million tonnes per year. Thanks to the partnership with the Jindal Group, VÍTKOVICE STEEL can become one of the first producers of green sheet metal in Europe and significantly strengthen its competitiveness and market position.

„The steel industry in the Czech Republic is known for its long tradition and Vítkovice Steel has the know-how, quality products, experienced employees and a good reputation as a stable supplier. These are the main prerequisites for long-term cooperation. We see great synergies between Jindal Group and Vítkovice Steel. We want to be a strategic investor and develop and expand production in Ostrava,“ said Harssha Shetty, CEO of Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel in Oman, when announcing the acquisition.

VÍTKOVICE STEEL is the first European acquisition for Jindal Group. The international group intends to invest up to EUR 150 million in the development of the company in Ostrava in the coming years, mainly in the expansion of the capacity of rolled sheets and the production of products with higher added value. Along with the investment and development of the company, new jobs are expected to be created. Already in the last year of cooperation with the Jindal Group, the number of VÍTKOVICE STEEL employees has increased by several dozen.

VÍTKOVICE STEEL, a. s. is a traditional European producer of rolled steel products, the largest producer of steel plates in the Czech Republic and the only producer of sheet metal in the Czech Republic. The company employs over 800 people. Most of the products of the Ostrava company are used in the construction and engineering industries. 70 % of the products sold go abroad.

JINDAL GROUP is a global industrial group with a dominant position in the steel, energy and mining industries, whose global investments have reached USD 25 billion. It produces 12.6 million tonnes of steel per year and 7,000 MW of electricity. It employs more than 50,000 people worldwide. It has a fully integrated supply chain, including iron ore and metallurgical coal mines. The steel arm of the group is currently undertaking a major global expansion to expand steel production from 12.6 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) to 30 MTPA by 2030, and the group is also pursuing similar growth in its power and mining verticals aimed at transitioning to low-carbon energy.