Image: Metso Australia.
The European Commission has approved the proposed combination of Metso’s minerals business and Outotec, with the merger on track for completion in June.
The two companies plan to combine Metso’s minerals business with Outotec, a move that has received unconditional clearances from competition authorities in Canada, Chile and Turkey.
Both companies intend to create a leading minerals processing company called Metso Outotec.
The European Commission’s unconditional merger control clearance is one more step towards the completion of the proposed tie-up next month.
This is subject to the receipt of all required regulatory and other approvals, including remaining competition clearances.
Metso told Australian Mining that the proposed merger was expected to combine the strengths of both companies that included technology, research and development, product and processing excellence as well as extensive aftermarket service capabilities.
The merged company will take advantage of its footprint in many geographical markets and knowledge across a range of mineral applications, particularly copper and high-growth minerals used in battery technology.
The contracting experience of Metso and Outotec is a founding strength to the minerals processing powerhouse that both aim to create.
Metso has a proven expertise in the dry minerals processing end of the market in crushing, screening and milling equipment, as well as pyro technology and tailings management systems.
Outotec has built its reputation on its specialty in wet processing disciplines, such as hydrometallurgy, flotation, filtration and downstream metal processing.
The company last year secured a €15 million ($24.3 million) contract with OZ Minerals for the design and delivery of a mine paste backfill system at the Prominent Hill copper-gold operation in South Australia.
Metso’s board of directors approved the proposed merger in October last year.
The new Metso Outotec headquarters are expected to be in Helsinki, Finland.