Ilva will join the consortium ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia

Italian Industry Minister Carlo Calenda selected the consortium of ArcelorMit5tal and Marcegaglia as the buyer, which offered 1.8 billion euros for the acquisition of the Italian steel mill ILVA (Ilva) in Taranto.

In addition to the purchase price, the consortium announced an investment of € 2.3 billion in steelmaking. According to available information, the consortium, which was named AM Investco Italy, should reduce the number of employees from the current 14 thousand to 8.48 thousand by 2024.

The Italian government has been trying to find a new owner for the plant since 2015. The problem was that the cost had to take into account the upgrades needed to keep the facilities running. Local authorities have tried to close the plant due to extremely high levels of environmental pollution and the rapid rise in cancer diseases in the vicinity.

The next step in the sale should be an assessment by the Italian Ministry of the Environment of plans to modernize the plant and reduce its environmental impact. During the modernization, production will remain at the level of 6 million tons of crude steel per year.

Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman of ArcelorMittal, commenting on the result of the tender, noted that in addition to improving its environmental impact, the consortium intends to improve the company's product portfolio and regain its market share.

Several weeks ago, Ylva announced that she would resume heavy slab production in early June, which had been interrupted for scheduled operations. Furnace No. 2 is also being serviced in accordance with the plan.