 "Tata Steel climbs on acquisition plans")
Shares of Tata Steel have inched higher by over 1% to Rs 369 on the BSE after the company decided to acquire three service centres in Sweden, Finland and Norway from rival SSAB to strengthen its offering to manufacturers in the Nordic region.
In a statement, Tata Steel said it has reached an agreement with SSAB to buy its strip products service centres in Sweden and Finland. In Norway, Tata Steel already owns 50% in the service centre and is now buying the remaining stake held by SSAB in the venture.
Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel Europe, said Tata Steel’s European operations have served customers in the Nordic steel markets for many years and these acquisitions will strengthen our strip products offering to manufacturers in this region and improve the local processing capability which will significantly enhance the product offering and service levels to customers.
The three centres process strip products, offering services such as cutting-to-length, slitting and recoiling. They supply steel to manufacturers in the automotive, construction and electrical supplies industries as well as to heavy and light engineering companies.
The stock opened at Rs 366, touched a high of Rs 372 on the BSE. A total of 116,407 shares changed hands on the BSE so far.