Metso has signed an agreement to sell its ferrous business to SMS Group, a global provider in technology and services in plant construction and mechanical engineering for the metals industry.
The assets to be divested include travelling grate pelletizing, the Circored direct reduction process, and the related service business. These have been reported as discontinued operations in Metso’s financial reporting since October 2023.
Around 180 employees primarily based in Germany, India and China are set to join SMS Group at the closing of the transaction, which is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2026.
“SMS Group is a great home for the ferrous technologies,” Metso president of minerals Piia Karhu said.
“It can offer both focus and scale for these businesses and hence capitalise on their full potential together with the strong team that is committed to further develop these technologies for the benefit of the customers.”
SMS Group chief technology officer Thomas Hansmann said the company is pleased to add Metso’s ferrous business to its existing portfolio.
“We are very pleased to add these future technologies to our product portfolio including the respective know-how carriers,” Hansmann said.
“The intention is for the Circored technology to help us pursue our ambition to be a leading partner in the green transformation of the metals industry.”
Metso has also made additional decisions related to the rest of its ferrous and heat transfer and metals and chemical processing businesses, which have also been reported as discontinued operations.
Metso will retain the businesses that have a positive market outlook and strong synergies with its offering to the copper and battery minerals industries.