Saudi Arabia. Al-Rajhi Steel in talks to buy stake in rival

Saudi Arabia. Al-Rajhi Steel in talks to buy stake in rival.

Al-Rajhi Steel, one of Saudi Arabia's three largest steel makers, is in talks to buy a stake in a local family owned steel firm which bankers said is rival Al-Ittefaq Steel Products Co.
Al-Rajhi Steel could buy up to 51 percent of the Al-Tuwairqi family's 77 percent stake in Al-Ittefaq, two bankers familiar with the two companies said. An Al-Rajhi Steel source confirmed his company was looking to buy a stake in a local steel firm but he declined to elaborate. "We are working on it," he said.
An Al-Rajhi Steel company spokesman declined to comment. Al-Ittefaq Chief Financial Officer Shabir Rafiqi could not be reached for comment. Buying a 51 percent stake in Ittefaq would double to some 4 million tonnes Al-Rajhi Steel's overall production capacity, the bankers said, sharply narrowing a gap with rival Hadeed which has a production capacity of 5.5 million tonnes. Hadeed is a unit of Saudi Basic Industries Corp.