An "
agreement in principle
" has been reached for the takeover by the German steel group Saarstahl of the ailing French sites of Ascoval and Hayange, owned by the British Liberty Steel, announced Thursday the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance .
Read also: Green light from Bercy to the takeover of Ascoval and Hayange
Last May, Liberty Steel, owner for less than a year of the Ascoval steel plant located in Saint-Saulve (northern France) and the Hayange rail plant (Moselle, eastern France), had announced to seek possible buyers, following difficulties of its owner the British magnate Sanjeev Gupta.
In a press release Thursday evening, the French Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire and the Minister for Industry Agnès Pannier-Runacher announced the signing of an “
agreement in principle
” between Liberty and the German steelmaker Saarstahl which “
opens the way to a transaction in the summer of 2021
”.
"A new European player" emerges
“
This agreement in principle needs to be further strengthened. This is why the government will be attentive to ensuring that the elements of securing this transfer are provided in the coming hours,
”he said. This agreement, “
which brings out a new European player, is very good news for the future of the French steel industry and for the employees of the two sites. It gives concrete expression to our unwavering commitment to them to ensure the sustainability of their jobs and of this strategic activity for France,
”said Bruno Le Maire.
"The investments that we have financed, combined with the exceptional commitment of the employees who transformed their production in an extraordinarily difficult period, are paying off today,"
said Agnès Pannier-Runacher for her part. The Minister emphasizes that
“several important groups in the sector have submitted high quality takeover bids. We now need a stable and powerful shareholder base for these two companies. The agreement announced today must now be implemented as quickly as possible, ”she
adds. Three groups appeared in the last square of candidates for the takeover of the steelworks and the rail factory: Saarstahl, ArcelorMittal and Beltrame.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Saarstahl proposed 3 million euros for the purchase of the two sites, and more than 40 million euros to be injected into investments, as well as 45 million for debt recovery.
ArcelorMittal's offer for its part provided for investments of
"an amount exceeding 60 million euros"
, argued the world leader in steel.
"A very good news"
A few days ago, the inter-union of Hayange had called on the government to validate the project of the German group Saarstahl rather than that of ArcelorMittal, judging
"without hesitation"
this offer
"in every way better. It is a group on a human scale that will give us economic, social and industrial autonomy, ”
she said.
“This is very good news for all employees and also for subcontractors and suppliers. The case will take place + in bonus +, without change, with just share buybacks
,
”
reacted Nacim Bardi, CGT delegate from Ascoval.
“The most important thing is that we are taken back with solid projects.
We can be at the start of a great adventure.
With Liberty Steel, we only had the Liberty name, no volume.
We held on to the shock, united, we continued to work, without losing control
,
”said
the trade unionist.
For him,
“the German is in pole position but we have to wait until next week to have confirmation”
.
Read also: Despite a difficult quarter, ArcelorMittal is staying the course
"It has been weeks since the fight has tightened on ArcelorMittal and Saarstahl"
, we commented in the cabinet of Xavier Bertrand, president of Hauts-de-France, who
"spoke several times with potential buyers. The two options are reassuring for the employees: they are two real manufacturers with coherent projects for Ascoval ”
. The State announced at the end of March that it was going to release a loan of 20 million euros to allow the Ascoval steelworks, with an already turbulent history, to pay salaries and continue activity.