Serbia's Hefestos Capital buys Romania's TMK Artrom

January 20 (SeeNews) - Belgrade-based investment banking company Hefestos Capital acquired Romanian steel pipes manufacturer TMK Artrom from Russia's TMK Group for an undisclosed price, the target company said.

The transaction was entered in the national trade registry and TMK Artrom was renamed to Artrom Steel Tubes, the company said in a press release.

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Hefestos Capital purchased from TMK Group 100% of its German subsidiary TMK EUROPE, which in turns owns 99.999914% of the share capital of TMK Artrom, a company official said in response to a SeeNews question.

The owners of Hefestos Capital are Milutin Nikolic and Pavle Kavran with stakes of 50% each, he added.

In 2022, Romania's tax authority froze TMK Artrom's accounts and assets as a result of EU sanctions on Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

Following the change in its ownership, Hefestos requested that the company's assets and account be unblocked, as it no longer belongs to the Russian group.

"Starting now, the Artrom Group can resume its programmes of development delayed by the successive crises of the last three years - the pandemic and the war in Ukraine - and can continue its activity in the markets where it has stood out over the years," Adrian Popescu, president of the board of administrators of Artrom Steel Tubes, was quoted as saying in the press release.

Artrom Steel Pipes operates two production units in Romania: a steel pipes plant in Slatina and a steel mill in Resita where it employs a total of 2,320 people, according to the company.

Hefestos Capital was established in 2001 and has been active in the European, Asian and African markets in industries such as industrials and manufacturing, retail, oil and gas, FMCG, financial services and energy.