The story
Since 2010, Azoty Tarnów have been undergoing a consolidation as one of the largest chemical enterprises in the country. The first significant event was its acquisition of 100% shares of the Unylon Polymers GmbH in Guben/Germany – polyamide manufacturing enterprise. The German business entered the Azoty Tarnów Capital Group and changed its name to ATT Polymers.
Another step involved consolidating the Polish chemical industry, by merging the largest companies in this sector on the domestic market. This began by amalgamating Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów with Zakłady Azotowe in Kędzierzyn-Koźle (ZAK S.A.). Azoty Tarnów purchased 52.6% B series shares of ZAK S.A. for PLN 150 million.
In 2011, a decision was made to amalgamate Azoty Tarnów with Zakłady Chemiczne in Police (near Szczecin), with the State Treasury holding 60% of the shares. The Management Boards of both companies were in favour of the consolidation. Having obtained the consent of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and due to lack of objections from the German Federal Cartel Office, the facility in Tarnów began raising the funds necessary to complete the purchase. ZCh Police was successful in raising the funds for a controlling stake by issuing 25 million C series shares, approved by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. Not only did these funds allow them to take over control over Police, but also to buy back another 40% of shares of the facility in Kędzierzyn from the state Treasury.
Hostile take over bid
In 2012, Azoty Tarnów became the target of a hostile take-over bid by the Russian Acron Group. On 16 May, the Russian company attempted to take control of the Polish chemical company through its subsidiary Norica Holding S.à r.l. They announced a tender of PLN 36 per share for Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów-Mościce. Acron Group managed to purchase only 12% of available shares. Steps taken by the company's management board and by the Polish Treasury, such as adoption by Parliament of legislation to control certain state investments, secured the enterprise against future hostile take-overs.
In 2023, Akron owned 19.82% of Grupa Azoty. These shares were frozen as Akron owner Viatcheslav Kantor came under European sanctions imposed in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In July 2023, the Polish authorities transferred Acron's stake in Grupa Azoty to external management and began looking for a buyer.
Expansion
On 13 July 2012, an offer for 6,116,800 shares of the Zakłady Azotowe in Puławy at PLN 110 per share, was announced. As a result of the call, the facility in Tarnów managed to obtain 10.3% shares of the facility in Puławy. This offer was the first step in the consolidation of the two largest chemical companies in Poland. The idea of merging Zakłady Azotowe in Puławy with Azoty Tarnów was supported by the Polish Treasury and the trade unions. On 15 November 2012 the management boards of Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów and Puławy concluded an agreement for establishing the principles of cooperation and conducting negotiations. Later, Azoty Tarnów issued shares, available solely to the shareholders of the company in Puławy. They exchanged shares held in Zakłady in Puławy for shares of the Tarnów company, at a ratio of 1:2. Full performance of this stage still required consent of the European Commission for the merger of both companies which was issued on 13 January 2013. Finally, a buy-back allowed Azoty Tarnów to purchase 95% of shares in Zakłady Azotowe in Puławy. Consolidation of the enterprises in Tarnów, Puławy, Police and Kędzierzyn-Koźle allowed for formation of one of the largest fertiliser companies in Europe, operating under the name of Grupa Azoty, consolidating ca. 75-80 per cent of the national fertiliser production.
On 21 November 2013, the Company purchased 85% of shares of the only Polish sulphur producer by smelting, Kopalnia i Zakłady Chemiczne Siarki, "Siarkopol" S.A. in Grzybów, from the Treasury. The value of the transaction was ca. PLN 400 million.
Another important event in the history of the company was the purchase of a Phosphorite mine in Senegal by Grupa Azoty Zakłady Chemiczne „Police" S.A. Zakłady in Police was able to purchase a controlling stake of 55% of AIG company shares for $28.5 million. This investment, now a subsidiary of Grupa Azoty, secured its own source of raw material for the production of phosphorus and other multi-ingredient fertilisers integral to its business.
Read the full text
In 2018, Grupa Azoty acquired German company Goat TopCo GmbH based in Münster for a reported EUR 226.6 million. The company operates within the specialty fertilizers segment and owns COMPO EXPERT company. The transaction was aimed at strengthening the company's position as a leading provider of agricultural solutions.
From Wikipedia’s article on Grupa Azoty, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5