OREANDA-NEWS. November 12, 2007. Metinvest Holding LLC is pleased to announce today that one of its subsidiaries has signed the definitive share purchase agreement to acquire from the Malacalza family 100% interest in Trametal SpA and Spartan UK Ltd for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is now being notified to the relevant competition authorities and the approval is expected to be obtained within 60 days. Metinvest plans to combine Trametal and Spartan with its existing Italian steel-rolling company, Ferriera Valsider SpA, thereby creating a company with more than 1 million metric tons of plate rolling capacity in the European Union. The transaction represents the first step of an expected further cooperation between the two groups in the fields of the steel industry devoted to provide specific specialization to each of them.

Mr. Igor Syry, the General Director of Metinvest Holding LLC stated: “We are extremely proud of today’s acquisition and believe that Trametal and Spartan perfectly fit our long-term strategy of producing more value-added products and improving the company industrial balance. Trametal and Spartan are excellent companies, producing high-quality steel plate and having a reputation for outstanding customer service. They will make excellent additions to our company and will be fully integrated into our corporate structure.

We plan to maintain the existing high standards of customer service and the current client networks and sales channels. Furthermore, we will keep in place the existing management team, employees, and business model. Lastly, we plan to invest in these companies and help them develop further.

This acquisition will allow us to enhance our presence in the Italian market, which we view as a key market for us. As a result of this acquisition, Metinvest will have more than 1 million metric tons of plate rolling capacity in the European Union.

Furthermore, we recognize the outstanding work that the Malacalza family has done over the years, building Trametal and Spartan into market leaders. As such, we are discussing the possibility of having them acquire a minority stake and becoming partners with us in the new company.”