NEW YORK — Outokumpu Oyj expects to grow significantly in North America as a result of its proposed merger with ThyssenKrupp AG stainless arm Inoxum Group, the company said Tuesday.

"In addition to the synergy savings, the transaction carries a significant growth upside in North America through a new integrated stainless steel mill in Calvert, Ala.," Outokumpu said, confirming its commitment to selling Essen, Germany-based Inoxum’s Terni mill in Italy in order to receive European Commission approval for the merger.

"As a binding remedy, Outokumpu commits to the divestiture of the Inoxum stainless steel mill in Terni, Italy, and select European service centers," the Espoo, Finland-based company said.

The commission rejected a previous proposal by Outokumpu to divest its stainless units in Sweden, which will now remain within the company.

Outokumpu also addressed concerns that the divestment of Terni would hamper its expected synergies from the deal (amm.com, Oct. 8).

"Despite the divestiture of the Terni operations, the company estimates to reach annual synergy savings of approximately €200 million ($257.6 million)," Outokumpu said.

The Terni sale excludes tubular unit Tubificio di Terni SpA, as well as a bright annealing production line with a capacity of 130,000 tonnes per year. The latter will be transferred to another Outokumpu production site, the company said.