BGL Announces the Acquisition of Kataman Metals by Korea Zinc

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is pleased to announce the sale of Kataman Metals (Kataman), a U.S.-based scrap metal trading company, to Korea Zinc, the world’s largest lead and zinc smelter. BGL’s Metals & Advanced Metals Manufacturing investment banking team served as the exclusive buy-side financial advisor to Korea Zinc in the transaction.

Founded in Seoul, South Korea as a non-ferrous metal smelter in 1974, Korea Zinc has established itself as a leader in the global zinc and lead market, producing more than 10 types of nonferrous metals, including precious metals such as gold and silver, and rare metals such as indium and bismuth.

Established in 1993 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Kataman is a global scrap metal trading company that trades approximately 300,000 tons of copper, aluminum, iron, and other scrap raw materials annually. Kataman has a network of traders and supply chain managers that provide services in more than 50 countries in six continents to support customers’ desires to participate in the circular economy and find sustainable solutions for scrap materials.

The acquisition is expected to accelerate Korea Zinc’s recycling and resource circulation business, one of its sustainability-focuses future growth initiatives, by providing access to a platform and expert traders with a broader and more diverse network of scrap metal feedstock sources. Korea Zinc’s expansion of its copper production facilities within the Onsan Smelter will require an additional supply of around 130,000 tons of copper scrap per year. Korea Zinc aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the smelting process by exclusively using secondary materials (raw materials secured through resource circulation or from waste).

BGL’s Metals & Advanced Metals Manufacturing team has deep sector knowledge and extensive Metals M&A transaction experience within major subsectors of the broader metals industry. Coverage includes metals recycling, mills and foundries, advanced metals manufacturing, and metal service centers.