Last Updated on December 3, 2025
Ukrainian steel group Metinvest, owned by billionaire businessman Rinat Akhmetov, has received approval from the European Commission to acquire the Romanian pipe manufacturer ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Iași. The move marks another step in Metinvest’s long-term expansion across the European Union as the company continues to reshape its footprint following massive wartime losses in Ukraine’s industrial heartland.
The approval from Brussels clears the way for Metinvest to acquire full ownership of the Romanian facility, which specializes in the production of welded carbon steel pipes. The plant had previously been part of ArcelorMittal’s sustainable solutions division, but several production units were idled last year as the group reorganized its European operations.
For Metinvest, the acquisition represents far more than a routine asset purchase. It is part of a broader effort to rebuild production capacity outside Ukraine after Russian attacks destroyed or disabled some of the group’s most valuable facilities, including its flagship steel complex in Mariupol.
Metinvest’s European Strategy Accelerates
Over the past two years, Metinvest has steadily expanded its presence inside the European Union, shifting investment toward countries with strong industrial capacity and stable regulatory environments. Italy has already become a base for several Metinvest assets, while Bulgaria plays a growing role through Promet Steel near Burgas — one of the holding’s key production hubs for reinforcement steel and long products in Southeast Europe.
Romania is now emerging as another major pillar in this strategy.
The Iași plant gives Metinvest access to advanced facilities, an experienced workforce and connections to regional construction markets. Industry analysts say Romania’s infrastructure boom and growing manufacturing base make it one of Eastern Europe’s most attractive steel markets over the next decade, particularly as EU-funded transport and energy projects gain pace.
Bid for Liberty Galați Signals Bigger Ambitions
The Romanian pipe maker is not the end of Metinvest’s plans in the country.
Metinvest is also one of four bidders for Liberty Galați, Romania’s largest but heavily indebted steel producer. The plant was once a flagship operation under earlier ownership but has struggled financially in recent years amid soaring energy prices and weakening demand.
If successful, Metinvest would gain control of one of Eastern Europe’s most strategically located steel mills, with direct access to ports on the Danube and strong export links to Central Europe and the Balkans. Competing bidders include Romania’s UMB Group and companies from Germany and Turkey, some of which have offered partnership structures rather than full acquisition.
Securing Liberty Galați would give Metinvest a dominant production platform inside the EU — something no Ukrainian steel group has achieved before.
Akhmetov’s Business Empire: Steel, Energy and Media
Rinat Akhmetov is widely regarded as the wealthiest person in Ukraine and historically the country’s most powerful industrial figure. His business empire spans steel, energy, telecommunications and real estate through two flagship holdings — Metinvest and DTEK.
Before the war, Metinvest ranked among Europe’s top steel producers, exporting across the EU, the Middle East and Asia. The destruction of Azovstal and Illich Steel in Mariupol eliminated roughly half of the group’s pre-war steel capacity, forcing a rapid repositioning abroad.
In parallel with the steel strategy, Akhmetov is also strengthening his presence in European energy markets.
His renewable energy division DTEK Renewables International recently completed construction of Romania’s largest solar power plant to date — the Văcărești project with 126 MW capacity. Half of its electricity output will be sold to OMV Petrom under the largest corporate power purchase agreement ever signed in the country. When operational, the project will expand DTEK’s renewable portfolio in Romania to nearly 300 MW.
Why Brussels Approved the Deal
The European Commission concluded that Metinvest’s acquisition of the Iași facility does not restrict market competition in the EU’s steel market — one of the most closely regulated industrial sectors in Europe.
Brussels’ decision reflects confidence that Metinvest’s entry will strengthen supply security without creating pricing or production dominance. EU officials have also stressed the importance of preserving industrial capacity inside the bloc at a time when European steelmakers face energy disruption, geopolitical risk and global overcapacity.
For Romania, the deal promises industrial continuity, employment stability and renewed investment in modernization.
What Comes Next
Metinvest’s growing European footprint reflects a profound transformation: the transition from a Ukrainian-based steel conglomerate into a multinational industrial group embedded inside the European economy.
With Romania now at the center of that strategy, the next few years will determine whether Akhmetov succeeds in turning post-war displacement into long-term restructuring — and whether Metinvest becomes one of Eastern Europe’s strongest industrial consolidators.
If the Liberty Galați acquisition succeeds, Romania may soon emerge as Metinvest’s most important production hub in the European Union.
Business Profile: Rinat Akhmetov
- Founder of both Metinvest and DTEK
- Former MP and long-time political kingmaker in Ukraine
- Turned Donbas coal and steel assets into Europe-scale industrial holdings
- Since 2022: focuses on defense production, energy security and industrial relocation
- Continues philanthropic work via Ukraine-focused humanitarian funding programs
Timeline: Metinvest’s European Expansion
2022 – Mariupol steelworks destroyed
2023 – Expansion in Italy and Bulgaria
2024 – Entry into Romanian renewables sector
2025 – EU clears acquisition of Romanian pipe producer
2026+ – Bid for Liberty Galați and further EU consolidation expected
Featured Image by metinvest.digital, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons