MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) - Evraz Group [LSE: EVR] said Thursday it had completed a deal to buy 73% of shares in leading U.S.-based vanadium producer Strategic Minerals Corporation (Stratcor) for $110 million.
Evraz Group, one of Russia's largest steel and mining companies, is keen to become a major producer of vanadium products widely used in making high-strength steels, alloys and chemical products. It said it had completed the share purchase deal after receiving approval from the European Commission and South Africa's antitrust bodies.
On August 10, Evraz Group, which produced nearly 14 million metric tons of steel in 2005 and had revenues of $6.5 billion, sold 41% of its stock to U.K.-based Millhouse Capital, which manages Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's assets. The company did not disclose the price but experts valued the deal at $2.7-3 billion.
