Italian government completes collection of bids for the purchase of ILVE

According to Commissioner Enrico Laghi, the collection of applications for the acquisition of the ILVE steel plant should be completed in February, and the purchase of the plant will be possible in the fall. Applicants include ArcelorMittal Marcegaglia and the Jindal consortium.

Enrico Laghi said he hopes to complete the submission of tenders for the acquisition of the Italian Ilva Steel Works (ILVE) in Taranto by 8 February. He stressed, however, that the date has not been officially announced by the government, so it could be moved. "The final decision is expected to take 30 days," Laghi said at a meeting of the budget committee.

The transfer of the object can take place between September and October. The government has been trying to find a new owner for the steel mill for several years now, and the timing of the procedure has already been announced several times. The problem is that the rate must be no less than the cost of modernization in order to enable the plant to continue operating. Local authorities have tried to close the plant due to extremely high levels of pollution and the rapid rise in cancer incidence in the area. Laghi said the company has the funds to carry out the ongoing modernization and is ready to invest 300 million euros.

Last year, Ylwa took advantage of the good economic situation created by the imposition of anti-dumping duties on cheap steel products from China and Russia and increased production by 23 percent year on year to 5.8 million tonnes. The company's revenue increased from 2.1 billion euros to 2.2 billion euros. EBITDA was negative last year, but the loss of € 220 million is half the € 557 million recorded in 2015.