EU clears ArcelorMittal’s asset sale to Liberty House for Ilva buy
18 Apr 2019
Steel giant ArcelorMittal has received approval from the European Commission to sell steel-making assets in Europe to Liberty House, to comply with regulatory requirements for its acquisition of Italian steelmaker Ilva.
“ArcelorMittal announces that it has received European Commission (EC) approval for the sale of several steel-making assets to Liberty House Group,” the NRI billionaire L N Mittal-led ArcelorMittal said in a statement on Wednesday.
The assets included ArcelorMittal Ostrava in Czech Republic, ArcelorMittal Galati in Romania, ArcelorMittal Skopje (Macedonia), ArcelorMittal Piombino (Italy), ArcelorMittal Dudelange (Luxembourg) and several finishing lines at ArcelorMittal Liege (Belgium), the Luxembourg-based company said.
“In May 2018, the Commission approved the acquisition of Ilva by ArcelorMittal, subject to conditions,” the EU executive said in a statement. “ArcelorMittal was required to sell a large package of steel plant assets to a suitable purchaser.”
“The transaction closing is anticipated to occur before the end of the first half of this year.”
The world’s leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 17 countries, has also bid to acquire debt-laden Essar Steel in India through an insolvency auction.
Liberty House, which has been snapping up distressed steel and aluminium assets, said the deal would more than doubles its worldwide steel-rolling capacity to 15 million tonnes.