Tata Sponge Iron Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Steel Limited, has acquired the steel business of Usha Martin Limited (UML). A meeting was organised today between the senior management of Tata Sponge and UML followed by a Town Hall meeting with all the officers of UML.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Sanjay Pattnaik, Managing Director, Tata Sponge, welcomed the UML officers to Tata Sponge family and said: ‘It is indeed a moment of great pride for all of us in Tata Sponge that today Usha Martin has become an integral part of the Tata Steel Group. India is on the cusp of growth and it is a great opportunity for all players in the steel industry to leverage this growth opportunity. Usha Martin is an established wire rod producer with significant equity in the market place.’

‘It is my privilege to welcome all the employees of Usha Martin into the Tata fraternity. It is with tremendous pride and humility that I look forward to working with all of you and meaningfully contribute towards a sustainable future of Tata Sponge as a new extended enterprise’, he added.

Mr. Chanakya Chaudhary, VP, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, Mr. Ashish Anupam, Additional Director, Tata Sponge, Mr. Debasish Mazumdar, President, UML and Mr. Sudipto Lahiri, AVP, HR&IR, UML were present on this occasion.

Tata Sponge Iron Limited has completed the acquisition of steel business undertaking of UML including captive power plants, today, pursuant to a cash consideration (after adjustment for negative working capital and debt like items) payable to UML of Rs. 4,094 crore, which is subject to further hold backs of Rs.640 crore, pending transfer of some of the assets including mines and certain land parcels.

Tata Steel signed a definitive agreement with UML to acquire their steel business in September 2018. The acquisition involves UML’s 1.0 MnTPA specialty steel plant in Jamshedpur that makes alloy based long products, a functional iron ore mine, a coal mine under development and captive power plants.

About Tata Sponge                  
Tata Sponge is the largest merchant sponge iron company in India. In the year 1982, Tata Steel along with IPICOL established Tata Sponge as its subsidiary to manufacture sponge iron. It is a B2B company in Bilaipada in the Keonjhar district of Odisha, which manufactures and markets branded sponge iron (DRI) in a commodity market. 

Tata Sponge has an installed capacity of 390,000 TPA of sponge iron. The company operates at 112% of its rated capacity and generates 26 MW of power through waste heat recovery technology. Tata Sponge has established itself as the market leader on several attributes and is considered as the most trusted supplier of consistent quality sponge iron. The proximity of Tata Sponge to iron ore sources and availability of own railway siding to transport RM and DRI has enabled the company to gain market leadership and establish a 30% export market.

The Company has received several recognitions in 2018-19 including the CII SHE Award, Kalinga Safety Award, 5-star rating by Odisha State Pollution Control Board, IIM National Sustainability Award (Winner), CII (ER) Productivity Award (Champion), CMO Asia Award for best practices on Education, and TAAP award for best practice on CSR Strategy (AA Score Card).

Disclaimer
Statements in this press release describing the Company’s performance may be “forward looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. Actual results may differ materially from those directly or indirectly expressed, inferred or implied. Important factors that could make a difference to the Company’s operations include, among others, economic conditions affecting demand/ supply and price conditions in the domestic and overseas markets in which the Company operates, changes in or due to the environment, Government regulations, laws, statutes, judicial pronouncements and/ or other incidental factors.