PRESS: Russia’s OMK may sell OMK Tube to Korea’s SeAH Steel

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (PRIME) -- Russia’s United Metallurgical Company (OMK) is seeking to sell or send to Russia the capacities of Texas-based subsidiary OMK Tube and is in talks with South Korea’s SeAH Steel as a potential investor, business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday, citing Korean and U.S. media reports, and sources in the industry.

The negotiations are not exclusive but other contenders for the asset have not been disclosed.

OMK bought Tubular Solutions, a firm making finishing coatings of tubes, in 2011 and built the OMK Tube plant, with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes of plain tubes a year, near to it. The hopes of the company, connected with oil and gas market growth, faded, and the plant was loaded by only about 25% of the capacity and ended up halted in late 2015.

Investments in the plant amounted to about U.S. $100 million until 2015.

End