Cartel authorities approve TSR takeover

Bottrop/Lünen. An international consortium composed of three medium-sized, family-managed enterprises has acquired the TSR Group, the German market leader in the recycling of steel scrap and non-ferrous metals. The cartel authorities have approved the amalgamation. At the beginning of February, the EU Commission declared its general agreement; on Thursday evening the Federal Cartel Office finalised its approval of the takeover.

60 percent of the TSR Group shares are to be taken over by REMONDIS AG & Co. KG, Germany’s leading water and environmental service company. The remaining 40 percent are to be divided equally between the Karlsruhe-based CRONIMET Group, a company dealing with primary and secondary raw materials for the stainless steel manufacturing industry, and the Italian steel producer ALFA ACCIAI. The TSR Group employs more than 1,500 workers at home and abroad, and in 2006 generated a turnover of more than 2 billion euros. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or further contract details.

With the acquisition, REMONDIS has further expanded its commitment in recycling management. Thomas Conzendorf, REMONDIS board member commented, "We welcome the conclusive clarity that has been attained for the employees and customers of the TSR Group, and look forward to this collaboration." REMONDIS offers full-service solutions to its customers at home and abroad, from the collection and processing of all kinds of materials to marketing raw materials. As a result of this acquisition, REMONDIS has increased its unconsolidated turnover to more than 5 billion euros per year. Together with its sister companies, SARIA and Rhenus, therefore, the RETHMANN AG & Co. KG company group is forecast to achieve an unconsolidated annual turnover of 8.6 billion euros this year.

The core business of the TSR Group is the processing of and trade in steel and metal scrap in Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Each year the TSR Group brings more than 10 million tons of raw materials back onto the market. REMONDIS, CRONIMET and ALFA ACCIAI intend to continue the successful work of the TSR Group. The TSR Group has 80 branches at home and abroad. The head office is in Bottrop (German state of North Rhine-Westphalia). Since the year 2000, the TSR Group has been 100 % owned by the Dutch SHV Group. In 1998, the SHV Group had already taken over 60 percent of the shares of Thyssen. The enterprise emerged in 1996 from the amalgamation of the Thyssen Sonnenberg GmbH and the scrap iron and metal divisions of Klöckner & Co. under the umbrella of the Thyssen Handelsunion. 

The Consortium
The REMONDIS AG & Co. KG, based in Lünen, is one of the world’s leading privately run water and environmental service companies. REMONDIS operates a plant network with more than 500 facilities and has branches and affiliated companies in 20 European countries as well as in China, Japan, Taiwan and Australia. www.remondis.de

The CRONIMET Group, which has its head office in Karlsruhe, is a leading international company group active in the area of marketing, production and recycling of alloy raw materials for the stainless steel manufacturing industry. The company, which was founded in 1980, has 4,000 employees as well as more than 50 locations around the world. The partnership will especially benefit from the CRONIMET Group’s know-how in the area of trading and of processing alloy steel raw materials and metals. www.cronimet.de

ALFA ACCIAI is a prominent family-owned Italian steel producer, with some 1,500 employees. The annual steel production amounts to 1.8 million tons; the annual production of rolled products adds up to 1.9 million tons. Together with its German partners, ALFA ACCIAI has been running a successful joint venture with TSR in the area of scrap recycling in South Germany for many years.  <link http: www.alfaacciai.it eng index.htm>www.alfaacciai.it/eng/index.htm

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