ArcelorMittal and Primex (Germany) have reached an agreement whereby ArcelorMittal Stainless International is acquiring the 35% stake in Uginox Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi ("Uginox") which was owned by Primex.

Uginox was formed in 1997 as a 65/35 joint venture between Arcelor and Primex. Uginox operates a coil processing and service center in Gebze, close to Istanbul. Most of its business is dedicated to servicing the fast growing automotive and white goods markets. In 2007, it processed about 38,000 tons of stainless steel and had revenues of about $102 million.

ArcelorMittal has also decided to gradually double, over the coming years, the size of its stainless service operations in Turkey, which will be renamed ArcelorMittal Istanbul Stainless Service Turkey.

Jean-Yves Gilet, CEO of ArcelorMittal Stainless, said: "This transaction consolidates our positions on a fast growing market and allows us to follow our key customers from the appliance and automotive sectors in their own development."