ITALY has received 10 bids for the former Ilva steel plant, but only two of the bidders are interested in purchasing all of the company’s assets, national steelmaker Acciaierie d’Italia said in a statement yesterday.
In a blow to the government, the two groups that were initially frontrunners for the tender, Azerbaijan’s Baku Steel Company working with Azerbaijan Investment Company and India’s Jindal Steel International, have withdrawn.
The two bidders still interested in taking all of Ilva are Bedrock Industries, a privately held US investment company, and a consortium involving the US private equity firm Flacks Group and Slovak steel trader Steel Business Europe.
Eight additional offers, including from Renexia (Toto Group), Industrie Metalli Cardinale and Marcegaglia targeted single assets held by Ilva. Based in Taranto, Ilva was once Europe’s largest steel plant, but has long been hobbled by poor management and concerns about its environmental impact. It has faced years of financial turmoil, with the state repeatedly injecting funds to keep it afloat, citing its strategic importance.
Italian media said Baku Steel abandoned its investment plans after local opposition would have prevented the deployment of a regasification vessel that was needed for its project to power more environmentally friendly electric furnaces. Jindal Steel has shifted its focus to Germany’s Thyssenkrupp, which is also on the market.
The latest tender round closed at midnight on Friday.
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