Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. said Dec. 6 that it is raising its stake in Katakura Steel Tube Co. Ltd. to about 80% from 24.9%.
Following the transaction, Katakura Steel will become a subsidiary of Nippon Steel and will change its name to Nippon Steel & Sumikin Katakura Tube Co. Ltd. around April 2018, subject to approval from the Japan Fair Trade Commission.
Katakura Steel's fiscal 2016 net sales were ¥6.6 billion.
Nippon Steel said the transaction will bring together Nippon Steel's expertise in manufacturing steel tubes and Katakura Steel's in cold drawing processing.
