After months of stalemate, the Italian government announced on Monday that the state would temporarily take over an ailing steel mill majority-owned by steel giant ArcelorMittal.
A government statement said the government will appoint a commissioner “with expertise in the steel sector” to manage the former Yilva steelworks “in the coming days”.
The former Ilva steel mill in the southern city of Taranto, in which the state already has a minority stake, is on the verge of bankruptcy with debts of more than 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion). They are unable to pay most of their suppliers and are unable to settle their gas and electricity bills.
Sources previously said that under the terms of the emergency administration, the government plans to appoint an administrator to prepare for the restructuring while seeking new investors.
State investment agency Invitalia called on the government on Sunday to start the takeover process after ArcelorMittal refused to inject fresh funds.
ArcelorMittal responded that it was “surprised and disappointed” to learn from Italian media that Invitalia had called for special management after the company did not mention it at Sunday’s emergency board meeting.
“This is a gross violation of the investment treaty,” it said in a statement to Invitalia, a copy of which was seen by AFP.
ArcelorMittal said it had participated in good faith discussions to support the Taranto plant or to arrange an orderly exit from its ownership, adding: We reject your attempts to blame and absolve you and the Italian government of our failures in public-private partnerships. ”
ArcelorMittal owns 62 percent of the steelworks, with the Italian state owning the remaining 38 percent.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and ArcelorMittal’s government have been trading accusations for weeks over who is to blame for the breakdown in negotiations over the plant’s future.
Economic Development Minister Adolfo Urso said on Sunday that ArcelorMittal “does not intend to invest in the company, but believes that it is justified to recycle the fruits of its labor and the sacrifices of an entire generation.” .
Trade unions were invited to a meeting on Monday where the government announced a decision on the factory’s fate.
The government considers the steel mill to be strategic for the country and wants to keep it open to protect around 10,700 jobs.
Among the potential investors mentioned in Italian media is Ukraine’s Metinvest, which has been searching for new production facilities since Russian forces captured the Azovstal factory in Mariupol in May 2022.
Also reportedly interested are Italian steel company Arvedi and Vulcan Green Steel, a subsidiary of Jindal Steel & Power, which made an unsuccessful bid for the Taranto plant in 2017.
ArcelorMittal acquired the Taranto factory in 2018 after the Italian government placed it under temporary administration in 2015 following financial and legal issues.
Creditors, who have also been invited to Monday’s meeting, have bad memories of the factory’s past administrations, with estimated debts of more than 150 million euros remaining unpaid.
bh/rl/giv/tw