Private equity firm in talks to buy Argor-Heraeus refinery – sources

A private equity firm is believed to be in talks to purchase the Argor-Heraeus gold refinery in Switzerland, sources have told Metal Bulletin.

Argor-Heraeus is part-owned by Heraeus, Commerzbank, the Austrian Mint and its management. The Austrian Mint and Commerzbank hold the largest stakes, according to their respective 2015 annual reports.

While it is not yet known how close the sale of Argor-Heraeus is to completion, the purchase price or whether the private equity firm is acting on behalf of other parties, Metal Bulletin understands that two other parties were in the running for the refinery, both of which were other refining companies.

The Argor refinery has been in operation since 1951. In 1973, 100% of its shares were sold to Swiss banking giant UBS. In 1986, UBS and Heraeus Group formed a joint venture, creating Argor-Heraeus SA.

In 1999, Heraeus and management acquired 100% of the company, bringing Commerzbank on board, and, three years later Münze Österreich, the Austrian mint, also took a stake.

In 2004, Argor-Heraeus opened a representative office in Chile; it also has an office in Italy. It is not known whether the rumoured sale includes other areas of the business. 

Argor-Hereaus and Heraeus did not respond to calls for comment by the time of publication.

The plant in Mendrisio is one of the largest in the world and one of only five refineries in Switzerland to be accredited by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) for good delivery.

Should the sale go through, it will be the responsibility of the refining company on the Good Delivery list to inform the LBMA of the change of ownership as per the rules of the association.

“If a company on the List is subject to a substantive change in its ownership or the technology used in refining, it must inform the LBMA accordingly. The LBMA reserves the right in such circumstances to ask the company to submit a new application,” the rules state.

(Editing by Mark Shaw)

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