Indian steel producer
JSW Steel is considering buying the Taranto-based Ilva steel plant in
Italy, according to union sources and the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
JSW Steel has written a letter to Ilva's special commissioner Piero Gnudi to express interest in the purchase of Ilva, according to the same sources. A
JSW Steel delegation is expected to visit the plant in the coming days. Some technicians from the Indian company were supposed to arrive in
Italy as early as this week, but the visit was postponed because of visa problems.
Meanwhile, a meeting between special commissioner Gnudi and banks has achieved the desired results. Accordingly, next week €125 million will be credited to the company's accounts, i.e., half of the total loan which banks are willing to provide to Ilva. The disbursement of the second €125 million tranche is subject to the existence of a concrete business plan by a foreign investor. Banks including Unicredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and Banco Popolare have therefore welcomed the news of the impending visit of a
JSW delegation to Taranto.
Last month, ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, sent a letter to express its interest in Ilva to the special commissioner and is expected to propose an industrial plan for the plant by the end of September, according to sources.
JSW is also in talks to buy assets of Piombino-based Italian steel plant Lucchini.