British-owned Liberty, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance, is set for another major expansion of its steel production capacity in continental Europe following a conditional agreement to acquire two Belgian cold rolling steel mills and one in Luxembourg from ArcelorMittal.
The group has struck a conditional agreement to buy the Flemalle and Tilleur sites near Liege, Belgium, which employ around 700 people and Dudelange, Luxembourg employing roughly 300. The three mills, serving the construction, industrial and automotive markets, have a combined annual manufacturing capacity of 2.1 mtons of cold rolled steel, 2 mtons of galvanised steel, and 200 Ktons of tin plated steel.
Both deals are subject to approval by the European Commission and other local processes, including the conclusion of information consultations with local and European Works Councils.
In common with the plants in eastern Europe and Italy, the sites at Liege and Dudelange are profitable assets that will further consolidate Liberty’s growing presence in continental Europe, which already includes the Liberty Wheels France plant at Chateauroux and, following the imminently anticipated completion of its acquisition from Rio Tinto, will also include Europe’s largest aluminium smelter at Dunkerque.
The three sites constitute the second part of a total package of site sales ArcelorMittal agreed with EU competition regulators to clear the way for it to purchase of Italian steel giant, Ilva, Europe’s largest producer of flat carbon steel.
