Tenaris receives European Commission approval to acquire Artrom in an EUR 86 million transaction that expands its industrial presence in Romania

The European Commission has authorized Tenaris to fully acquire Artrom Steel Tubes, the Romanian manufacturer with industrial operations in Slatina and Reșița. The transaction, valued at EUR 86 million by the buyer, would add steel and seamless pipe production capacity to a group that already operates plants in Zalău and Călărași. The approval from Brussels removes the European competition condition, but does not yet confirm completion of the acquisition or fulfillment of all approvals required in Romania.

The European Commission has authorized Tenaris’s full acquisition of Artrom Steel Tubes, removing one of the main regulatory conditions for the transaction announced in May. Tenaris agreed to buy 100% of the Romanian manufacturer’s capital from GLGH Steel for EUR 86 million, in an operation that would significantly expand the group’s existing industrial footprint in Romania.

In brief

In May, Tenaris agreed to buy 100% of Artrom Steel Tubes from GLGH Steel for EUR 86 million, on a cash-free, debt-free basis and with a normalized level of working capital.

Artrom has an annual production capacity of approximately 450,000 tonnes of steel in Reșița and up to 200,000 tonnes of seamless pipes in Slatina.

Tenaris already operates steel pipe production units in Zalău and Călărași, making the acquisition an expansion of an industrial presence already established in Romania.

The Commission authorized the transaction after concluding that credible alternative suppliers would continue to exist in the affected markets.

In May, Tenaris estimated that the transaction would be completed in Q4 2026. The Commission’s approval fulfills the European competition condition, but the public sources consulted do not yet confirm the closing of the transaction or completion of all Romanian approvals.

The purchase agreement was announced by Tenaris on May 8. The group set an aggregate price of EUR 86 million for all Artrom shares, calculated on a cash-free, debt-free basis and including a normalized level of working capital. The seller is GLGH Steel, a company headquartered in the United States.

At that time, Tenaris stated that completion depended on customary regulatory approvals, explicitly listing authorization from the European competition authorities and approvals from the Romanian government. The buyer estimated that the transaction would close in the last quarter of this year.

The European process formally began on September 7, when the Commission received notification of the concentration. The document subsequently published in the Official Journal establishes that Tenaris is to acquire sole control over the entire Artrom company by purchasing its shares.

The approval on October 13 closes this stage. The Commission says that the transaction does not raise competition concerns because, after the acquisition, customers will continue to be able to purchase from credible alternative suppliers in the markets where the two companies operate. Case M.12428 was examined under the standard merger-control procedure.

However, the Commission’s brief release does not publish the companies’ market shares, the detailed boundaries of each market analyzed, or the complete assessment that led to the authorization. The published information shows the European executive’s competition conclusion, not a broader assessment of the transaction’s industrial effects on production in Romania.

The industrial dimension is larger than the competition release indicates. Artrom operates two interconnected components of the same production flow: the steel mill in Reșița, with an annual capacity of approximately 450,000 tonnes, and the plant in Slatina, which can roll up to 200,000 tonnes of seamless pipes per year.

Reșița produces the steel and semifinished products used in pipe manufacturing, while Slatina covers the production stages for tubular products. Artrom describes this structure as an integrated industrial flow, from steel to the finished tubular product.

The company’s portfolio extends beyond a single segment of the energy industry. Artrom produces pipes for mechanical applications, boilers and high temperatures, gas and water transport, low temperatures, the oil industry, hydraulic cylinders, precision applications, and components for the automotive industry.

For Tenaris, the acquisition does not represent an entry into the Romanian market. The official document filed in the concentration procedure shows that the group already has steel pipe production capacities in Zalău and Călărași, alongside its facilities in Arcore and Bergamo, Italy, and a much broader industrial network outside the European Economic Area.

The closing of the Artrom acquisition would add two different capacities to this network. Tenaris would take over both the seamless pipe production in Slatina and the steel mill in Reșița, strengthening its ability to cover more stages of the production chain for industrial tubular products internally.

Tenaris says that through the transaction it seeks to expand its range of industrial pipes and production capacity for European customers. This is the buyer’s stated strategy when announcing the agreement in May; the Commission’s approval neither requires nor guarantees the achievement of a specific production capacity after the acquisition.

Artrom is undergoing another change of ownership after several years of shareholder restructuring. The company was previously part of the TMK group, and in December 2022 the beneficial owner of the shares became the Serbian fund Hefestos Capital. From January 2023, TMK-Artrom was renamed Artrom Steel Tubes.

In 2025, GLGH Steel announced the agreement to acquire the company from its previous owners, and in May 2026 it became the seller under the agreement concluded with Tenaris. The new transaction thus transfers the assets in Slatina and Reșița to an industrial group that already owns pipe production facilities in Romania.

The Commission’s decision provides no information about any changes to staffing levels, mandatory investments, capacities that might be expanded or reduced, or relationships with Romanian suppliers. Nor does the EUR 86 million price appear in the competition release: it comes from the transaction terms published by Tenaris and also reported to the U.S. capital-market authorities.

The final part of the transaction timetable also remains open. Tenaris had set Q4 2026 as the estimated closing deadline, subject to the necessary approvals. The Commission’s authorization means that the European obstacle concerning the concentration has been removed; to say that Artrom has actually been acquired, the closing of the transaction and fulfillment of the other conditions set out in the agreement must be separately confirmed.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/tenaris-primeste-acordul-comisiei-pentru-preluarea-artrom-tranzactie-de-86-milioane-eur-care-extinde-prezenta-sa-industriala-in-romania