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Finnish Government to transfer SSAB shares from Solidium to direct ownership under the Prime Minister’s Office

Government Communications Department
Publication date 14.9.2021 11.54 | Published in English on 14.9.2021 at 13.01
Press release 516

The wholly state-owned special assignment company Solidium Oy owns 6.3% of the shares and 8.0% of the voting rights of the steel company SSAB AB. At its meeting on 14 September 2021, the Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy supported the transfer of the SSAB shares from Solidium Oy to direct state ownership, as well as the definition of the State’s strategic interest related to SSAB ownership. Ownership will be transferred as return on capital to direct state ownership and ownership steering under the Prime Minister’s Office.

One of the key objectives of the Government Programme and the Government Resolution on Ownership Policy is to achieve carbon neutrality in Finland by 2035. Emission reductions in industry play a significant role in achieving this target. From the point of view of state ownership, it is important that the largest company that emits industrial carbon dioxide in Finland converts its operations into a low-carbon operations. For this reason, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has now defined a strategic interest for the ownership, and the ownership will be transferred from Solidium to direct state ownership.

SSAB is the one of the world’s leading companies to develop the production of carbon-free steel. The transition of the Raahe steel plant to carbon-free production will enable Finland’s largest individual source of carbon dioxide emissions (4 million tonnes/year) to be replaced with a climate-neutral solution and promote the use of carbon-free steel also globally. The strategic interest serves to impact the rapid implementation of the company’s low-carbon strategy and, more broadly, the development of the sector’s competence base in Finland.

“In line with the Government Programme, state ownership will pursue a long-term, dynamic ownership policy that safeguards the State’s strategic interests. The decision to transfer the State’s SSAB shares from Solidium to direct ownership under the Prime Minister’s Office contributes to the goal of transitioning to a carbon-neutral society. In line with the strategic interest defined by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Finnish Government is willing to accelerate the SSAB transition towards fossil-free steel production in cooperation with the company’s Swedish owners. We will do this by means of active and responsible ownership,” says Minister Tytti Tuppurainen, who is responsible for ownership steering.

SSAB produces specialty steel. In 2020, the company’s turnover was EUR 6.5 billion and the number of personnel approximately 14,000. Solidium is the third largest shareholder of the company with a 6.3 per cent stake of the shares and 8.0 per cent of the voting  rights. SSAB’s Finnish production plants are located in Raahe and Hämeenlinna. The company’s shares have been listed on the Stockholm and Helsinki stock exchanges.

Inquiries: Maija Strandberg, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Prime Minister’s Office, [email protected], tel. +358 50407 8423

Requests for interviews with Minister Tytti Tuppurainen: Emilia Tervonen, Special Adviser to the Minister, [email protected], tel. 050 5520676