Aurubis AG, Europe's biggest copper smelter, said on Monday it had agreed to take 100 per cent control of German copper wire and rod maker Deutsche Giessdraht by acquiring the 40 per cent stake held by Chile's Codelco.
Aurubis had held 60 per cent of Deutsche Giessdraht and Codelco held the remainder through German unit Codelco Kupferhandel GmbH.
The agreement will require the approval of German competition authorities, Aurubis said. The parties have agreed not to release the transaction price.
Deutsche Giessdraht produces about 240,000 tonnes of continuous cast wire rod copper rod annually and has about 110 employees at its plant in Emmerich.
Aurubis announced a strategy in March 2017 which it said could include takeovers and expansion into other metals.
"Part of our new strategy is an expansion of our copper product capacity and this transaction fits into this," an Aurubis spokeswoman said.
CEO Juergen Schachler said in December that Aurubis is placing a major focus on organic growth in its new corporate strategy but is still open to acquisitions.
Aurubis' last acquisition was Luvata's rolled copper operations in 2011.
Reporting by Michael Hogan; editing by Jason Neely.