Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov's Metinvest may close its Romanian pipe plant

Metinvest, the steel group controlled by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, has sent home a large part of the workforce at the Romanian pipe plant it bought last December and is weighing whether to close it, as the war in Ukraine disrupts the flow of steel to the site.

The plant, Metinvest Tubular Iasi in northeastern Romania, ran short of raw material after supplies from Ukraine became difficult several months ago, according to people close to the business. Metinvest is considering three options: mothballing the plant, selling the whole business to a buyer that wants all of its assets, or taking it apart and selling the land, buildings and equipment separately. The company has not announced a decision.

The setback comes less than a year after Metinvest completed the purchase from ArcelorMittal SA, the Luxembourg-based steelmaker controlled by the family of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. The European Commission cleared the deal on Nov. 24, 2025, and Romania's competition authority gave its approval the next day after screening it as a foreign investment. Metinvest closed the transaction on Dec. 16 without disclosing the price. It was the group's first production site in Romania.

A plant built around Ukrainian steel

The Iasi plant, previously known as ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Iasi and before that as Tepro Iasi, makes welded steel pipes used in construction, engineering, infrastructure and farming. It has five pipe mills, two slitting lines and two coating lines, and can produce up to 240,000 metric tons a year.

Metinvest's plan was to feed the plant with up to 180,000 tons a year of hot-rolled coil from Zaporizhstal, a steelworks in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, about 600 kilometers away. The first shipment of 22,000 tons arrived early this year, and the plant's chief executive, Cosmin Toma, said in February that pipes made from Zaporizhstal steel "fully met the strict requirements during testing."

Metinvest Group Chief Executive Officer Yuriy Ryzhenkov described the deal at the time as "a unique opportunity to provide jobs for two units simultaneously," in Iasi and in Zaporizhzhia, and as part of the company's contribution to Ukraine's post-war reconstruction. The group promised to honor existing employment contracts and to fold the plant into its production chain during 2026.

The plant had about 170 to 200 employees when Metinvest took over. It added at least 80 jobs after hiring resumed in April. The number of workers sent home has not been disclosed.

The business was losing money before the sale. It posted a net loss of 66.49 million lei ($13.9 million) in 2024 on revenue of about 304.6 million lei ($63.8 million), after losses of 15.86 million lei in 2023 and 17.15 million lei in 2022. It still ranked as the third-largest exporter in Iasi county in 2024, according to the local chamber of commerce.

Akhmetov's steel empire under strain

Akhmetov, 60, is Ukraine's richest person. He owns 71.24% of Metinvest through his holding company, System Capital Management, while Smart Holding, controlled by businessman Vadym Novinsky, holds 23.76%. The two partners run the company together.

Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 halted production at Metinvest's two largest steel mills, Azovstal and Ilyich, in the port city of Mariupol, and cut the group's overall capacity by more than 40%. The company has since sought to expand inside the European Union, where it already owns Promet Steel in Bulgaria and the Trametal and Ferriera Valsider rolling mills in Italy. Last year it also made offers for the Liberty Galati steelworks, Romania's largest steel plant.

Akhmetov has other investments in Romania. DTEK, his energy group, runs solar projects in Mures county and a wind farm in Iasi county.