On December 24, Japanese steelmaker JFE Steel Corporation, pipemaker Maruichi Steel Tube Ltd and trading company Toyota Tsusho Corporation announced that they have completed their joint acquisition of Vietnamese spiral steel pipe manufacturer Jeong An Vina Co., Ltd and officially restarted the company as J-Spiral Steel Pipe Co., Ltd.
The value of the acquisition from South Korean-based Jeong An Steel Co., Ltd is KRW 18 billion (about $15.9 million), under a plan to directly manufacture and sell steel pipe pile and steel pipe sheet pile in Vietnam.
Jeong An Vina has an annual production capacity of 50,000 mt and recorded sales of $10.9 million in 2009. It was established by Hyundai Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. in 1995 and is based in Long Thanh, Dong Nai Province.
The acquisition is made on the following basis: 35 percent by JFE Steel, 35 percent by the Maruichi Steel Tube group and 30 percent by Toyota Tsusho.
The newly acquired company will manufacture high-quality steel pipe pile, steel pipe sheet pile and water pipe by combining existing facilities for spiral steel pipe manufacturing and coating with manufacturing technologies from JFE Steel. It expects to raise shipments from 10,000 mt a year at present to 50,000 mt in the foreseeable future.