WACKER acquires silicon metal production site in Norway
2010-06-09 09:04:03 【Print】
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 9 Jun 10 - Wacker Chemie AG is acquiring the Norwegian FESIL Group’s silicon-metal production site in Holla (near Trondheim) for EUR65,000,000 (USD77,530,000). The two companies signed a purchase agreement to this effect on Friday night, June 4, 2010. Under the terms of the transaction, WACKER takes over all of FESIL’s production facilities in Holla, including the related real estate. Closing of the transaction is expected before the end of Q3 2010.
This strategic acquisition is a key step in securing long-term supply of silicon metal for Wacker. Acquiring Holla makes Wacker more independent of raw-material price fluctuations and increases its supply security during peak-demand periods; moreover, the acquisition makes Wacker more competitive in the fierce market of polysilicon. FESIL AS will now focus its resources on ferrosilicon metal production and develop its worldwide ferroalloy trading as well as industrialize its Solsilc Solar Grade Silicon Metal Process now at the pilot stage.
Silicon metal is one of Wacker’s most important raw materials and is needed for the production of silicones and hyperpure polysilicon. It is reported that Wacker requires around 160,000-170,000t of silicon metal per year, and Holla Metall’s production capacity is around 50,000tpy of silicon metal, which corresponds to nearly one third of Wacker’s current annual needs.
Wacker purchases around 1,000tpm of 4-2-1 from China, but it has special requirements for many microelements such as phosphor and boron, so the price is relatively higher than the average price of 4-2-1. According to an official from Wacker, the recent purchase for 4-2-1 was around RMB14,000/t (USD2,050/t) in ports. The source also claimed that Wacker’s purchasing volume from China only accounts for a tiny proportion of its consumption, so it will not change after the acquisition.
