Befesa buys out JV partner at French facility

Luxembourg-based metals production byproducts recycler Befesa S.A. has signed a share purchase agreement and completed the acquisition of a remaining 50 percent stake in Recytech S.A. of France.

Prior to the transaction, Recytech had been a steel dust recycling services joint venture (JV) between Befesa and Recylex S.A. Befesa paid an all-cash price of $42.8 million to buy out Recylex.

Recytech was established as a JV in 1991 between the Befesa Steel Services GmbH business unit of Befesa and Recylex, a French metal recycling services company.

The Recytech facility is located in Fouquières-lès-Lens in northern France and processes steel dust from electric arc furnaces (EAFs), extracting zinc and converting it into waelz oxide (WOX), a feedstock used in the production of electrolytic zinc.

According to Befesa, Recytech recycles about 110,000 metric tons of EAF steel dust and produces around 45,000 metric tons of WOX annually.

Befesa has managed the operations of the Recytech site during the past year while Recylex was involved in bankruptcy proceedings.

“Befesa and Recylex have been great joint venture partners since 1991, working together to provide outstanding services for our clients,” says Javier Molina, executive chair of Befesa. “The acquisition of the remaining 50 percent stake of Recytech marks an important milestone in the European component of our growth plan.”

Molina, in reference to numerous announced basic oxygen furnace to-EAF steel mill conversion projects announced in Europe, adds, “The strategic location of Recytech will enable us to expand our EAF steel dust recycling services further in the heart of an area where EAF steel production will grow over the coming years.”

According to Befesa, the financial troubles of Recylex that led to its liquidation resulted from challenges in its lead-acid battery recycling business, unrelated to its interest in Recytech.

Befesa provides its byproducts recycling services to the steel and aluminum industries via facilities located in Germany, Spain, Sweden, France, Turkey, South Korea, China and the United States. The company says it manages and recycles around 1.9 million metric tons of residues annually, producing about 1.7 million tons of marketable materials annually.