Private equity fund GSOL eyes takeovers to expand ferronickel business

A private equity fund, which has grown in five years to be the world's second biggest producer of stainless steel ingredient ferronickel, is holding talks about four or five potential acquisitions, one of its executives told Reuters.

The Global Special Opportunities Ltd (GSOL) fund aims to boost its output of 50,000 tonnes a year of ferronickel both by expanding its current two operations and possible takeovers, Marcos Camhis said.

Ferronickel is a combination of nickel and iron used to produce stainless steel, which accounts for around 70% of total nickel demand.

"We're on the lookout for additional projects in the nickel space, both in terms of ferronickel industrial assets, plants, and also in terms of undeveloped greenfield projects in mining," Camhis, a director of GSOL, said in an interview this week.

"We have had active discussions with four or...