The legitimacy of Ylva's acquisition is in doubt

Italian Minister of Economic Development Luigi Di Maio said that in his opinion, the tender in which ArcelorMittal was awarded the acquisition of the steel company Ilva last year, "... is not legitimate."

Over the past three months, the new minister has looked into the tender and finally confirmed that he believes it should be considered illegal. He reached this conclusion despite the fact that the Italian authorities confirmed that there was no substantial legal basis for canceling the tender. The decision was in the hands of the Italian government,

Despite this announcement, it has been confirmed that the Italian government is not canceling the existing contract with ArcelorMittal. It will continue to investigate further understanding of whether he will be able to cancel the tender and manage Ylva differently.

Luigi di Maio leads the public that has campaigned for the closure of the steel industry in Ilve in Taranto for the past five years. Under the existing contract, ArcelorMittal is set to take control of Ilva on 15 September. However, the company has not yet agreed on a work plan with the unions, and threats from the Italian government to cancel the contract continue.

ArcelorMittal confirmed this week that the company participated in the bidding process “... in good faith” and that it remains committed to the Ilva acquisition. “We look forward to receiving government support in order to achieve a successful conclusion of the union negotiations as soon as possible,” said a spokesman for the group.