Atlas completes acquisition of Evraz's N. American business

MOSCOW. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Atlas Holdings has completed the acquisition of the North American division of Russian steel and mining group Evraz and formed Orion Steel on the basis of the acquired assets.

The terms of the sale include an advance payment of $50 million and a deferred payment of up to $450 million. The company said that the latter was "payable subject to the achievement of certain milestones by the North America business following the closing of the sale."

In May 2022, Evraz North America parent company Evraz Plc was included in the UK's sanctions list and simultaneously issued a general OFSI license allowing Evraz NA to continue its operations. Since then, the North American branch has functioned separately from Evraz Plc as a wholly independent organization.

Evraz announced at the end of summer in 2022 that it had put its North American division up for sale. Evraz obtained an OFSI license to sell the division at the end of June 2025.

Evraz North America has around a 44% share of the North American rail product market and accounts for about a third of large-diameter pipe production. The company's U.S. production sites are in Portland and Pueblo and its Canadian production sites in Regina, Calgary and Red Deer. Evraz NA also has scrap metal processing assets in Western Canada, North Dakota and Colorado.

Evraz announced this week that it plans to consolidate its Russian assets around JSC Evraz Nizhny Tagil Iron & Steel Plant (NTMK), which will be renamed PJSC Evraz after the completion of all necessary procedures and then go public. The new company's shares are expected to start trading on the Moscow Exchange in the first half of 2026.

Last week, the Moscow Region Arbitration Court stripped UK-based Evraz plc of its corporate rights in JSC Evraz NTMK, which Russia has declared an economically significant organization (ESO). As a result, Evraz Plc shareholders can, or if they are Russian residents must, directly own shares in Evraz NTMK, according to the rules set by the law on ESOs.