Ostrava, North Moravia, June 1 (CTK) – Trinecke zelezarny (TZ) steelworks submitted a bid for ArcelorMittal Ostrava (AMO) which ArcelorMittal group wants to sell by the end of 2018, TZ spokeswoman Petra Mackova Juraskova told CTK today.
The group wants to buy Italy’s Ilva and AMO’s sale is part of the compensation deal. Other bidders and their names have been unknown.
TZ filed an initial bid, said Mackova. “We will provide no more details,” she added.
President Milos Zeman proposed that TZ should buy AMO as these companies should remain in the state’s hands, if possible.
“ArcelorMittal group is holding talks with prospective buyers of the Ostrava plant. It will comment neither on the number nor on the names of the bidders. The deal should be concluded by the end of 2018,” AMO spokeswoman Barbora Cerna Dvorakova told CTK.
In May, the European Commission approved a takeover of Ilva, the biggest steel maker in Europe, by ArcelorMittal, the world’s number one steelworks, on condition that the group sells AMO and some other units in Europe to provide guarantee that Ilva’s acquisition will not violate economic competition and will not cause a price hike.
Preliminary bidders should be known by the end of May, with binding bids to be received by AMO’s administrator during July.
“The picked bidders will be assessed by the Commission as to whether they are able to continue the operation and further development of the company so that it might act as an active competitor of ArcelorMittal group,” Cerna said.
Ashok Patil, CEO and administrator of AMO’s assets put up for sale, said earlier AMO would be sold as a functioning company with no cuts in its production capacity and staff numbers.
“We will gradually separate our teams, systems and processes for the steelworks (AMO) to work independently of ArcelorMittal group before the deal is concluded,” Patil said.
ArcelorMittal group accounts for about 6 percent of the world’s steel production volumes. It has been active in more than 60 countries.
AMO has a 6,500-strong workforce. It produces over two million tonnes of steel mainly for the building and engineering industries annually, exporting its products to more than 40 countries.
AMO generated a net profit of Kc1.308bn on sales of Kc28.786bn in 2016. AMO, formerly Nova hut, has been part of the Lakshmi Mittal group since 2003.