Italy’s steelmaker gets offers from Baku Steel, Jindal, Bedrock

TARANTO: Italy’s largest steelmaker, formerly known as Ilva, has received 10 purchase offers, according to its administrators.

The Acciaierie d’Italia steelworks, based in the southern city of Taranto, has been under state-led administration after struggling to sustain production amid rising energy costs and weak demand.

Three of the offers – one from a consortium of Azeri Baku Steel Company CJSC and the Azerbaijan Investment Company OJSC; another from Bedrock Industries Management; and the third from India’s Jindal Steel International – are for the entirety of the business, the administrators said in a statement on Saturday. The rest were for parts of the assets.

Italy’s industry minister Adolfo Urso said the interest “confirms we are on the right track to relaunch” Italy’s steel sector. “This is the decisive phase,” he added.

The administrators said they would take the “appropriate time” to examine all offers, paying close attention to protection of jobs and climate and environmental concerns.