5 Steel Makers May Bid for Ascoval Hayange Assets of Liberty Steel
S&P Global, citing sources close to the matter, reported that Acciaierie Venete, ArcelorMittal, Beltrame, JSW and Saarstahl and two private equity firms are interested in acquiring Liberty Steel French units Ascoval and Hayange. ArcelorMittal, JSW and Saarstahl have bid for Hayange in the past, but Liberty won the company as it put in an offer for both Hayange and Ascoval.
Liberty Steel France, which incorporates Liberty Ascoval and Liberty Rail Hayange, has faced a significant reduction in working capital support since the collapse of Greensill Capital. The French government in March loaned Eur20 million to the two plants to cover working capital and capital expenditure costs, according to sources. The French government obligated Liberty to refinance operations by the end of May with an additional Eur20 million, or put the two companies up for sale if it could not get the refinance. Liberty put specialty steelmaker Ascoval and rail producer Hayange on the market together in May
Hayange, near the German border, is considered a strategic national asset because it produces tracks for French railways and Parisian metros. Hayange produces between 250,000-300,000 tonnes of rails a year, most of them for France's state-owned railway company, SNCF. Ascoval operates an electric arc furnace for waste recycling.
Source - Strategic Research Institute