British Steel: Jingye brings in PwC and McKinsey to close £50m deal
Prospective British Steel buyer Jingye has called in PwC and McKinsey to help finalise the company’s plans to close the deal.
The Chinese dealmaker needs to finalise its £50m takeover of the insolvent British Steel by the end of next month.
Consultants from PwC and McKinsey have now been brought in to ease concerns about how well Jingye can handle public money and to “fine tune” the business plan, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The government’s is reportedly planning to hand over a £120m support package to the Chinese firm in an attempt to protect jobs at the
Jingye are also promising £1.2bn of investment into the company. Scunthorpe steel manufacturer.
Business secretary Andrea Leadsom and business minister Nadhim Zahawi met executives from Jingye last month to discuss completing the purchase.
Leadsom said the meeting was “highly productive” and that she “remained optimistic about progress” on the sale.
However, the sale could reach a stumbling block due to a British Steel plant in France.
French officials are concerned about the potential for Jingye to stop using the factory, which is located in Hayange, and could block the sale on national security grounds.
Jingye are trying to win over support from the unions that represent the 4,500 staff in order to ensure the move goees ahead.
A Jingye spokesman told the Telegraph: “We continue to make progress in our discussions with the unions, government and other stakeholders and expect to complete the transaction in the first quarter of the year.”