Brussels reviews Tenaris bid for sole control of Romania's Artrom

The European Commission received on 7 September 2026 notification of a proposed concentration under which Tenaris S.A. would acquire sole control of Artrom Steel Tubes S.A., according to a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 18 September 2026. The prior notification, registered as Case M.12428 – TENARIS / ARTROM (OJ C/2026/4907), opens a preliminary review and gives interested third parties 10 days to submit observations.

The notification was made pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, the Merger Regulation, published in OJ L 24 of 29 January 2004. The notice carries EEA relevance. On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation, but states that the final decision on this point is reserved.

The undertakings concerned

• Tenaris S.A., of Luxembourg, ultimately controlled by San Faustin S.A. (Luxembourg), is a global manufacturer of steel tubes and related services for oil and gas and other industrial applications.
• Artrom Steel Tubes S.A., of Romania, is a Romanian manufacturer of steel tubes for industrial applications.
• Tenaris is publicly listed on the New York, Italian and Mexican stock exchanges.

Industrial footprint

Tenaris operates steel tubes manufacturing facilities in the EU in Arcore and Bergamo (Italy) and in Zalău and Călărași (Romania). Outside the EEA, it operates facilities in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Artrom operates a steel tube manufacturing facility in Slatina (Romania) and a steelmaking facility producing steel bars for steel tube manufacturing in Resita (Romania).

The transaction

Tenaris will acquire, within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation, sole control of the whole of Artrom. The concentration is to be accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

Submitting observations

• Deadline: observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of publication, that is by 28 September 2026.
• Reference to be specified in all submissions: M.12428 – TENARIS / ARTROM.
• Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu
• Post: European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition, Merger Registry, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium.

The notice is a procedural step in the EU merger review: it does not prejudge the outcome, and the Commission has expressly reserved its final decision on whether the transaction falls within the scope of the Merger Regulation. The case concerns the consolidation of steel tube manufacturing capacity in Romania, where both groups already run plants, and the observations gathered in the next 10 days will feed into the assessment of the deal’s effect on the EU steel tubes market.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, C series, C/2026/4907, 18 September 2026, section I (official reference: C/2026/4907).