ArcelorMittal applies for the acquisition of the Ilva steel mill

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, has filed a non-binding bid with Italian steelmaker Marcegaglia to bid for an Italian steelworks embroiled in a major environmental scandal.

The firm has put up for sale the Ilva steel mill, located in the city of Taranto in the Puglia region of southern Italy. Around 16,000 employees work at the steel mill, which also has the highest yield potential of any other plant in Europe. The plant supplies steel to the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, which contributes to high revenues in southern Italy.

The production capacity of the plant is about 11 million tons per year, but the company is currently unable to produce even half of this volume due to factors such as weak demand for steel, as well as provisions for limiting capacity on the European continent. The plant has been under special government oversight since the Riva Family, which owns the plant, was accused last year of toxic emissions that caused problems for local residents and mussel farms on the coast.

In a report published by the European Environment Agency, the Ylva steel mill was identified as one of 30 industrial sites that caused severe industrial pollution in Europe. Last month, the European Commission gave the Italian government two months to complete its investigation. The Commission asks the government to provide detailed information on how it is planned to modernize the treatment facilities of the metallurgical plant.