Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Egypt’s biggest listed firm by market cap, said on Wednesday it bought Dutch storage tank owner and operator MICRO Chemie as part of an expansion into Europe.
Analysts said the purchase would complement Orascom’s acquisition of the fertilizer and melamine units of Dutch chemical group DSM last month.
"The (MICRO Chemie) acquisition does not move the earnings needle, but adds pipeline control," Nomura analyst Chet Riley said in a note.
Orascom, a conglomerate with interests in construction and the fertilizer industry, declined to reveal the price, but said the purchase would enable it to ship to France, Germany and the Netherlands via the Rhine river.
MICRO Chemie has ammonia storage tanks with a total capacity of 30,000 tons and a 25-year, renewable lease for a terminal at Rotterdam port in the Netherlands, Orascom said.
In March, Orascom said it was buying DSM’s fertilizer and melamine units for €310 million ($394 million) as it pushed to expand its fertilizer operations.
Beltone analyst Omar Taha said the combination of a transport and distribution network could help Orascom earn more per ton from its shipments to European ports once its factory in Algeria starts producing ammonia and urea next year.
