Brazil’s Gerdau SA announced through a subsidiary, Gerdau Aços Longos, that it has completed the acquisition of long steel producer Siderúrgica Latino Americana (Silat) from the Spanish group Hierros Añón, securing final approval from Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defence (Cade). The purchase of 96.35% of Silat carried a value of approximately $111 million.

A press release said that the Silat acquisition is part of a long-term effort to define the organization’s strategy in the years ahead, reinforcing its position in the steel value chain through investments and acquisitions. The deal is also a strategic expansion opportunity in the Northeast, since the company already has an industrial unit in Ceará, in the city of Maracanaú.

Silat has 233 employees (its own and third parties), and has an annual installed rolling capacity of 600 thousand tons and an expanded plant capable of producing 100 thousand tons each year. Focused on the civil construction sector, the company has since 2012 been in Ceará, where it produces rebar, welded mesh, steel mesh and trusses.

“This acquisition is a project with good potential for Gerdau, which should contribute to the development of a culture of innovation in the company,” said Marcos Faraco, vice president of Gerdau Aços Brasil, Argentina and Uruguay.