The announcement comes as ArcelorMittal’s worldwide investments face stress (JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN)
<p>Mumbai (AFP) – The world’s biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal announced Monday that it has concluded its acquisition of debt-laden Essar Steel, a significant win for India’s nascent bankruptcy law designed to help nurse insolvent companies back to health.</p><p>The announcement brings a fractious chapter to a close after India’s Supreme Court cleared ArcelorMittal’s bid for Essar Steel last month, setting aside a previous ruling by a national tribunal that threatened to obstruct the deal.</p><p>One of India’s key steelmakers, Essar Steel was earmarked for insolvency proceedings in 2017 under the country’s first ever bankruptcy law passed a year earlier.</p><p>"The acquisition of Essar Steel is an important strategic step for ArcelorMittal," the global giant’s chairman Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement. </p><p>"India has long been identified as an attractive market for our company and we have been looking at suitable opportunities to build a meaningful production presence in the country for over a decade," Mittal said. </p><p>ArcelorMittal will run the company in a joint venture with Japan’s Nippon Steel, which will hold the remaining 40 percent stake in the newly-formed entity, the statement added.</p><p>The announcement follows a move by India’s parliament to table a bill amending the bankruptcy law to offer protection to buyers against criminal action levelled against previous owners over unpaid dues and other issues.</p><p>It also comes as ArcelorMittal’s worldwide investments face stress, especially in Italy, where it recently pulled out of an agreement to buy struggling local firm Ilva.</p><p>ArcelorMittal began leasing the plant in Taranto in 2018 and had plans to invest 2.4 billion euros to revive it.</p><p>But last month it said it planned to cut 5,000 jobs, prompting new negotiations with Italy, which considers the steel mill a strategic industrial site and faces pressure from unions.</p><p>Shares of ArcelorMittal were down by almost two percent on the New York Stock Exchange Monday. </p><p></p>

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.