Mumbai,Feb. 12: Tata Steel, Europe's second largest steel producer, today said it would acquire three service centres in Sweden, Finland and Norway.

In a communication to the stock exchanges, the company said its subsidiary, Tata Steel Europe, had reached an agreement with steel producer SSAB to buy its strip products service centres at Halmstad in Sweden and Naantali in Finland.

Tata Steel Europe will also acquire from SSAB the remaining 50 per cent stake in Norsk Stål Tynnplater AS, another strip products service centre based in Fredrikstad, Norway.

The company, however, did not disclose the value of the transactions.

The three centres process strip products and offer services such as cutting to length, slitting and recoiling.

They supply to manufacturers in the automotive, construction and electrical supply industries apart from heavy and light engineering companies.

"These acquisitions will strengthen our strip products offering to manufacturers in this region. Improving our local processing capability will significantly enhance our product offering and service levels to customers,'' Karl Koehler, chief executive officer of Tata Steel Europe, said.

He added that there was an increasing demand for advanced steel products in the Nordic region.

The three centres employ around 180 people - 50 at Norsk Stål Tynnplater, 70 at Naantali and 60 at Halmstad.

Tata Steel said the European Commission had approved the sale of the centres.

The transactions remain subject to the approval from competition authorities in Norway, Sweden and Finland.