Norilsk Nickel sells US metals distributor to TMP Holdings for cash

Norilsk Nickel sold its distribution company Norilsk Nickel USA to American TMP Holdings. This is reported in press release companies.

The company’s announcement clarifies that the company was acquired by TMP Metals Group, Inc. for cash. Norilsk Nickel did not disclose the amount of the deal. With the acquisition of the company, TMP Metals Group will become one of the leading suppliers of metals and metal products in North America, Latin America and South America.

“We see this deal as an opportunity to optimize our global distribution business while helping to establish a more sustainable flow of low-carbon nickel and palladium to industrial consumers in the region,” said Anton Berlin, vice president of sales and distribution at Norilsk Nickel.

Raymond F. Staples, founder and chairman of the board of directors of TMP, in turn, notes that right now it is important to become a supplier of critical metals for the new economy. Nickel, platinum and palladium are key components in the production of electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines. “To decarbonize the planet, the market needs to produce four times as much as it does now,” Mr. Staples says.

TMP Metals Group Inc. is a subsidiary of TMP Holdings, Inc., engaged in the refining and distribution of nickel and platinum group metals. The company is based in Beverly Hills and has over $5 billion in annual revenue.

Norilsk Nickel is the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel. Earlier, the head of the company, Vladimir Potanin, came under sanctions from the United States, Great Britain and Canada. Mr. Potanin, through Interros, owns a 37% stake in Norilsk Nickel.

In 2022, North and South America accounted for 15% of Norilsk Nickel’s metal sales structure, at the beginning of this year the share increased by 2%. The share of Asia is also growing, in the first quarter of 2023 the share reached 45%, now this region has become the main direction of supplies. The share of Europe has decreased and, according to the results of the first quarter of 2023, is 24% (in 2021 – 53%). At the same time, the growth of shipments to Asia occurs at the expense of European companies.

Polina Motyzlevskaya