Romgaz buys idled fertilizer producer Azomures for €69M

Romanian state-controlled gas supplier Romgaz has completed the €69M purchase of domestic fertilizer producer Azomures, bringing one of the country’s largest nitrogen plants back under national ownership after more than a year of idled production.

The acquisition closed on May 29, with members of Romania’s interim government confirming the deal in separate statements, according to Argus. Interim prime minister Ilie Bolojan said the €69M price comprises €46M for the plant, €10M for raw material and remaining stocks, and €13M to keep the facility running for two months. Bolojan added that the transaction still requires approval from Romgaz shareholders, the competition authority and the foreign investment commission.

Azomures, owned by Switzerland-based trading firm Ameropa, can produce up to 1.6 million tonnes per year of NPK and nitrogen fertilizers. It is one of Romania’s biggest gas consumers, with a demand of about 1 billion m³ a year at full capacity. The plant has not produced fertilizer since August 2024, aside from small-scale output in the second half of last year.

Romgaz first expressed interest in Azomures in February 2025, but the sales process stalled in January, when Azomures mothballed its production facilities, prompting the government to intervene and revive the talks. “Romanian gas used domestically, a national industry that produces competitive fertilizers, cheaper inputs for our farmers,” Minister Bogdan Ivan said of the deal’s rationale.

Restart timing will hinge on shareholder and regulatory sign-off, with the two-month operating provision pointing to an early resumption of production once approvals clear.

Source: Argus Media