Italian steelmaker Arvedi and Jindal Steel International have submitted binding offers to buy all operating production units of former Ilva. The news was announced by the special commissioners of Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI) and Ilva, both under state administration.
The bids were submitted before the deadline, midnight on November 8. “Offers, both concerning the purchase of all operating production units, were received from the Arvedi group and Jindal Steel International,” the commissioners said in a statement. They will now check that the bids are complete and comply with the tender conditions.
A consortium of Italian steel companies led by industry association Federacciai did not submit a binding offer. Its members had previously sent a letter of interest. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, there had already been doubts about the likelihood of the consortium submitting a binding bid. In its latest market review, metals traders’ association Assofermet noted that the group appeared to be “leaning toward withdrawing from the process.”
The bids come amid a halt in production at the Taranto plant’s hot-rolling operations. Italy’s Supreme Court rejected appeals against a Milan Court of Appeal ruling suspending operations at the site, which is now permanently closed. The last operating blast furnace, No. 2, stopped producing pig iron in early October and had remained in hot standby.
ADI’s special commissioners asked the government to increase the number of workers affected by temporary layoffs from 4,450 to 8,622 — nearly the company’s entire workforce — and extend the measure through February.