ArcelorMittal Announces List of Companies for Sale in Case of ILVA Purchase

ArcelorMittal has announced a list of factories it will dispose of in order to obtain European Commission approval for the purchase of the Ilva plant. It covers several factories throughout Europe. The EU decision is expected by May 23 this year.

ArcelorMittal has stipulated that any provisions regarding the actual sale of companies will only be made if consent is obtained to acquire Ilva. There is an electroplating plant in Piombino, Italy, which has probably already found a new owner. At the end of last year, the press reported that it would be the Italian company Arvedi. However, both sides did not comment on these messages at the time.

ArcelorMittal will also sell factories in Galati in Romania, Skopje in Macedonia, Ostrava in the Czech Republic and Dudelanga in Luxembourg. The list will include some lines in factories in Belgium, for example, two galvanizing lines in Flemalla.

Last June, Carlo Calenda, Italian Minister of Industry and ArcelorMittal selected the Marcegaglia consortium, which offered 1.8 billion euros for the acquisition of the Italian steelmaker ILVA in Taranto. In addition, the consortium announced a € 2.3 billion investment in a steel plant. He also limited the number of employees from the current 14 thousand to 8.48 thousand people until 2024.

The Italian government has been trying to find a new owner for the plant since 2015. The problem was that the costs of upgrading the plant could continue to function.

Local authorities have tried to close the plant due to extremely high levels of pollution and the rapid growth of cancer in the area.