Wacker Chemie has signed a PPA with Fesil group for the acquisition of its silicon-metal production site based in Holla, Norway. The transaction will still require the approval of Wacker’s supervisory board and Fesil’s board of directors as well as clearance by the antitrust authorities.
Under the terms of the proposed contract, Wacker will take over all of Fesil’s production facilities, including the related real estate, and plans to continue employing the site’s existing workforce.
“This strategic acquisition is a key step in securing our long-term supply of silicon metal,” said Wacker CEO Rudolf Staudigl. “Acquiring Holla makes us more independent of raw-material price fluctuations and increases our supply security during peak-demand periods.”
“This acquisition represents a strategic change, bringing the Holla Silicon Metal plant into an integrated part of Wacker’s silicone value chain”, says Thorstein Abrahamsen, CEO of Fesil. “Fesil will now focus its resources on ferrosilicon metal production and develop its world wide ferroalloy trading as well as industrialize its Solsilc Solar Grade Silicon Metal Process now at the pilot stage.”
Holla Metall’s production capacity is around 50,000 metric tons of silicon metal annually, which corresponds to about one third of Wacker’s current yearly needs. Closing of the transaction is expected before the end of Q3 2010.
