German recycling group Alba Europe Holding says it has decided to stop the process for the sale of its listed steel and metal division Alba SE.
Last year, Alba Europe announced its intention to sell the majority of Alba SE (see Kallanish 11 March 2022), which is mostly owned by one of the holding’s owners, Eric Schweitzer. It cited the European Green Deal which would lead to a structural change in the steel industry in order to comply with climate protection. “We are therefore looking for a strategic investor” to share ambitions for organic growth and acquisitions, Schweitzer said then. He also pointed to the growing interest from steelmakers in securing direct access to scrap.
“The circumstances have changed fundamentally in the meantime,” Alba chief executive Robert Arbter says in the latest statement from the group. “The past year, with the Ukraine war and the European and German progress in climate protection policy, has shown that raw material and energy security are becoming more and more important.”
He notes the Alba SE unit has developed extremely positively despite volatile markets in a difficult environment, and that its business result for 2022 was above plan. The board therefore sees promising long-term development prospects and announced that the group will continue to invest in and develop its 21 steel and metal sites.
Christian Koehl Germany
