ArcelorMittal has offered to sell its stake in the Italian steel mill or become a minority shareholder after the Rome government announced plans to bring Italy’s steel mills under state supervision, the CEO said. CEO) said in a letter obtained by AFP on Saturday.
Aditya Mittal has written a letter to the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni The move is to seek an “amicable solution” to the crisis surrounding the ailing former Ylva factory, one of Europe’s largest steel mills.
The letter was dated Thursday, the day Meloni’s far-right government announced it had taken the first steps to bring the factory under state supervision.
Negotiations with ArcelorMittal, which owns 62% of the company, broke down over how to continue production at its factory in the southern city of Taranto and save thousands of jobs.
In the letter, first reported by news agency ANSA and later obtained by AFP, Mittal said he wanted to avoid “extreme unilateral action”.
He said the government wanted to dissolve a joint venture with ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, in which state investment group Invitalia holds a 38% stake.
ArcelorMittal has “offered to sell its entire stake to Invitalia for part of a cash investment” in a “complete separation”, the chief executive wrote in English and Italian.
“Although Invitalia has refused, the proposal remains on hold in case the government wishes to consider it.”
Alternatively, “we stand ready to remain a strategic partner of the minority until the Italian government decides on a permanent solution,” Mittal wrote.
– Debt problem –
Rome considers the steel mill to be a strategic asset, but it has long been plagued by financial and environmental problems.
The operator, Acciaierie d’Italia, has been unable to pay many of its suppliers and utility bills, putting the factory at risk of having its gas cut off.
“We cannot afford to lose any time,” Italian Business Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters earlier.
“We have activated procedures that could lead to special administration within the next few weeks,” he said.
“On the other hand, if ArcelorMittal makes a proposal that is in line with what the government considers absolutely necessary to protect the factory and restart production, then shareholders can certainly discuss that,” he said.
Special administration involves appointing a commissioner to manage the company and draw up a rescue plan pending the arrival of new investors.
Meanwhile, the government said it was ready to guarantee the factory’s “current liquidity” with a 320 million euro ($347 million) bridge loan.
Mittal said if things go as planned, his company could contribute up to one-third of the state’s contribution toward purchasing the joint venture’s assets to avoid concerns about state aid.
After the site was last placed under temporary administration in 2015, ArcelorMittal responded to a call for tenders and at the end of 2018 sold the Ylva Group and its 10,700 employees (including 8,200 in Taranto). It took over.
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