James P. Bouchard, chairperson and CEO of Esmark Europe, the European investment vehicle of Esmark, announced that it has been selected as the winning bidder in the privatisation process for Železara Smederevo Steel Works by the Republic of Serbia.
Esmark Europe will now begin the process of finalising the strategic partnership agreement with the Republic of Serbia to take a controlling 80.1% stake in Železara Smederevo. Esmark Europe expects to close the transaction by 1 February and immediately begin to implement its revitalisation program.
The Železara Smederevo Steel Works facilities include two blast furnaces located in the village of Radinac, near Smederevo; a tin plate production facility in Sabac; and a raw materials production and processing facility in Dimitrovgrad.
Bouchard reaffirmed his previous statements that Esmark Europe would invest approximately USD 400M over the next five years for working capital, capital improvements and other investments; and an immediate infusion of USD 28M this year to repair and modernise the steel mill’s second blast furnace, steel shop and sinter plant. Esmark Europe expects the blast furnace upgrades will complement the mill’s new state-of-the-art USD 80M pulverized coal injection plant. The company also pledged to maintain Železara Smederevo Steel Works’ workforce of approximately 5,000 employees because of its restructuring and production plan.