Steel Mills
ArcelorMittal Bid Rejected for Bankrupt Essar Steel
Written by Sandy Williams
March 21, 2018
Bidding for bankrupt Essar Steel is back to square one after offers from Numetal and ArcelorMittal were declared ineligible by lenders. The bids were rejected under the amended Insolvency and Bankrupcty Code that prohibits related parties and insolvency-linked parties from bidding.
ArcelorMittal India was involved in a joint venture in Uttal Gallva, which defaulted on loan repayments. The IBC prohibits a promoter of a defaulting company from bidding on stressed assets.
Numetal was rejected because its minority shareholder is the son of Essar Steel co-founder Ravia Ruia, making him a ”connected person” to Essar Steel.
The next round of bids is due by April 2. Tata Steel, Vedanta Group, SSG Capital, AION and Nippon Steel were included in the first round of bidding and will be allowed to bid again. Essar’s lenders will vote to decide if any new bidders should be allowed in the second round. JSW Steel reportedly has expressed interest.
The Press Trust of India reports that ArcelorMittal and Numetal can bid again if they “delink their connection from the promoters or standardize the loans.”
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
Cliffs talks DOE funding, blast furnace relining schedule
The future of two projects supported in part by funding through the Department of Energy remains uncertain.
Cleveland-Cliffs open to asset sales
Meanwhile, its Canadian operations have been hurt by the broader tariffs proposed by the United States.
As Q1 loss balloons, Cliffs pledges to cut costs, streamline operations
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. gushed red ink in the first quarter, and pledged to stem the bleeding by idling inefficient, “loss-making operations” and increasing focus on its core automotive business.
Cliffs plans to idle three mills, cut 950 jobs on ‘insufficient demand and pricing’
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to indefinitely idle its steel mill in Riverdale, Ill., as well as mills in Conshohocken, Pa., and Steelton, Pa. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said all three facilities would be idled on or around June 30. Approximately 950 jobs will be impacted, the company said.
CRU: Usiminas may reduce capex unless government strengthens protection
“The lack of effective measures to create fair competition, amid a surge in subsidized imports, is the main threat to the sustainability of Brazil’s steel industry and its value chain,” CEO Marcelo Chara said.