Indian steel giant JSW mulls Liberty Steel bid – report
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Indian steel giant JSW Steel is reportedly mulling making a bid for embattled Liberty Steel in Britain as well as mills elsewhere as potential suitors circle Sanjeev Gupta’s global commodities empire.
Two sources told Reuters that the Mumbai-headquartered firm was considering an offer, but stressed that no final decision had yet been taken on whether to bid.
If such an offer were made and accepted, it would mark yet another foreign takeover of a part of the UK’s steel sector.
In a statement issued this morning, JSW Steel said its focus remained in India for now and it was not looking at acquiring any overseas assets.
The reports come as Gupta continues to attempt to refinance his GFG Alliance after his chief lender went bankrupt in March.
A spokesman for GFG said it “continues to serve its customers around the world and is making progress in the refinancing of its operations, which are benefiting from the operational improvements it has made and the very strong steel, aluminium and iron ore markets.”
Since the collapse of Greensill, which triggered a major lobbying scandal involving former Prime Minister David Cameron, fears have been growing over the future of Liberty Steel, which employs about 3,000 people in the UK.
Ministers have said they will not step in until Gupta has finished his attempts to refinance the firm.
But any change of ownership of Liberty Steel is likely tobe politically sensitive.
Darren Jones, who chairs the UK parliament’s business, energy and industrial strategy committee, said he expected any buyer to require ministerial clearance.
“Steel production can also be considered to be an important part of our economic resilience and national security,” he told Reuters.
The government said it was “closely monitoring developments around Liberty Steel and continues to engage closely with the company, the broader UK steel industry and trade unions”.
Private equity investor Endless and China’s Jingye Group, which owns British Steel, were also interested in Gupta’s business in Britain, said people familiar with the matter.