EU approves Baosteel-Baowu Aluminium-Kobelco joint venture

BRUSSELS, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) — The creation of a joint venture by Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel), Baowu Aluminum and Kobelco has been approved by the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation recently.
The transaction relates primarily to the sector of automotive aluminium sheets.
The European Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the limited impact on the European Economic Area. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
Kobelco will have a 50 percent stake in the venture and Baosteel and Baowu the remaining half, according to the statement on Kobelco’s website on Aug. 8.
The new company will produce aluminium sheets for China’s domestic automobile manufacturers at two plants in Tianjin and central Henan province.
The provisional name of the venture, to be established in Shanghai with a registered capital of 900 million Chinese yuan (127 million U.S. dollars), is Kobelco Baosteel Automotive Aluminum Rolled Products. ■