Huta Oława sold

Silesia Metallurgical Works (ZM Silesia), a manufacturer and processor of zinc, has bought Huta Oława, Poland's leading producer of zinc and lead. The purchase will expand the zinc and lead division of Impexmetal, ZM Silesia's owner. Huta Oława was formerly owned by the Boryszew Group.

The acquisition of Huta Oława and its plants - a white-zinc plant in Będzin and a red-lead plant in Złoty Stok - cost around zł.44 million. The transaction will be funded through Impexmetal's own funds.

"The Huta Oława purchase resulted as part of the [Boryszew] capital group's restructuring strategy," said Piotr Szeliga, the president of Impexmetal. "The takeover of this plant was just a tactical move on Impexmetal's part," said Anna Boniecka, an analyst at Bankier.pl. "The consolidation will not have any impact on the industry or its main players. Impexmetal acquired a company belonging to Boryszew, while Boryszew is the main shareholder in Impexmetal. Both companies have the same owner - [Polish tycoon] Roman Karkosik. The main goal of such financial operations is to move costs, and improve or worsen results," Boniecka told WBJ.

While the industry as a whole will not feel the impact of the Huta Oława acquisition, it will help to simplify the internal structures of both Boryszew and Impexmetal.

"The purchase of Huta Oława is part of a consolidation in the zinc and lead division [of the Group]," explained Ewa Bałdyga, spokesperson of both Impexmetal and Boryszew Group. "Our goal is to create individual product divisions which will become better able to compete on their markets," added Szeliga. "We're not excluding [new] acquisitions," he said.