April 17 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it has approved Liberty House Group's purchase of several ArcelorMittal steel plants in Romania, North Macedonia and other countries.
"The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, Liberty House Group as a suitable purchaser of several ArcelorMittal steel plants, sold under commitments made by ArcelorMittal in order to buy Ilva. The Commission has also approved the transaction itself under EU merger rules," the Commssion said in a statement.
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The assets were sold under commitments made in May 2018 by ArcelorMittal in order to buy Italian steelmaker Ilva. ArcelorMittal is selling a steelworks in Galati, in Romania, an integrated steelworks in Ostrava, Czechia and finishing plants in Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and North Macedonia.
The divested production sites cover the whole value chain, from liquid steel manufacturing to the production of finished flat carbon steel products, including hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanised steel. Thus, the divestment includes not only finishing lines but capacity for the production of liquid steel at two integrated steelworks that are also able to expand their production, the Commission also said.
In November the Romanian government said Liberty House Group pledged to invest 300 million euro ($339 million) in the steel mill in Galati.
ArcelorMittal Galati employs about 6,200 people and is the largest integrated steel plant in Romania.
Formerly known as Sidex Galati, it was bought by LNM Holdings NV in 2001 from the Romanian state, for 70 million euro. In 2004, it became part of Mittal Steel, a company created by the merger between LNM Holdings NV and Ispat International. Two years later, following a merger between Mittal Steel and Arcelor, Sidex became ArcelorMittal Galati.
ArcelorMittal, formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Mittal Steel, is the world‘s leading integrated steel and mining company present in more than 60 countries.
Liberty House Group is an international business, registered in Singapore with headquarters in London, active in commodities, metals recycling, and the manufacture of steel, aluminium, and engineering products. It employs over 19,000 worldwide.
($=0.8843 euro)