The Liberty House Group has begun new negotiations with the government to buy British Steel's Scunthorpe steel mill, which has been in liquidation since May. The group, owned by British Indian-born billionaire Sanjiv Gupta, was one of the potential buyers believed to have expressed interest in the acquisition of British Steel in the early stages of the sale.
Turkish firm Ataer Holdings remains in exclusive negotiations with the Official Successor over a potential takeover after reaching a preliminary agreement to buy the company in August.
On Monday it became known that the Turkish investor does not intend to buy British Steel without revising the supply contracts concluded by the previous administration, considering them "non-competitive". The facts of possible corruption surfaced after a comprehensive check by the Turks of the documents of the bankrupt plant.
Earlier it was reported that the Chinese group Jingye unexpectedly got involved in negotiations to buy British Steel last month.
Nevertheless, the British government assures that the deal with the Turkish military fund for the purchase of British Steel is in the final stage.
At the same time, it was reported that the trade unions and the labor collective of the enterprise opposed the fact that they would be given to the Turkish holding, suspecting Ataer of producing rolled metal for the armed forces.
The expiration of a period of exclusivity with Ataer should not signal that the Turkish bid is dead, according to insiders, although the country's military invasion of Syria has "complicated" its interest in British Steel.
