The sale of Albchrome, a part of Balfin Group owned by businessman Saimir Mane was been completed, according to a statement from the company.
The embittered chromium mining company has been sold to Turkish industrial conglomerate Yildirimg Group for an undisclosed sum.
As reported in December, the deal will be an “all-cash purchase” and the final price was determined based on Albchrome’s existing inventories as the largest chrome ore and ferrochrome producer in Albania.
“We will be completing the purchase next month. We are hoping it will be by mid-January or the end of the month,” Yildirim said in December.
Yildirim Group is a conglomerate with interests in mining, ports, and chemicals in more than 28 countries. Since the failed coup in Turkey, the company has been looking to expand abroad.
“Deals outside Turkey are much cheaper and better than Turkish opportunities. It is easier to deal with foreign bureaucracy than Turkish bureaucracy,” Yildirim told Bloomberg in 2017.
Albchrome has been somewhat controversial due to a number of miners deaths and serious injuries with no accountability from the company. Furthermore, protests have taken place over working conditions, low salaries, and failure to provide adequate safety materials.
The acquisition, finalised on 14 January will not result in any job losses, according to Yildirim. They confirmed that the headcount would remain the same and they would continue following Balfin’s investment strategy.
In 2020, Albchrome output 68,000 tons of ferrochrome and 100,800 tonnes of chrome ore.It is one of Albania’s largest exporters and has a mine in Bulqiza, ferrochrome smelters in Burrel and Elbasan, and Vllahen Mining.
Yildirim group has activities in multiple sectors and employs over 14,000 people in 53 countries.
