No prospective buyers have emerged for Liberty Steel’s Dudelange facility following the suspension of the sales process last month, after rumoured bidder Tosyali reportedly withdrew.
Informed sources tell Kallanish that the primary objective of Dudelange’s court-appointed receiver and the Luxembourg government remains the sale of the facility. However, despite receiving enquiries from interested steel companies, no formal bids have materialised.
The plant employs approximately 140 workers, following recent staff reductions. Union representatives have expressed scepticism regarding the likelihood of a sale. In coordination with the government, the unions are now organising a “job day” initiative aimed at helping employees transition to alternative employment opportunities.
“Tosyali had a good industrial project for Dudelange,” a source explains. “They were going to invest and expand into the European market. The official reason for the withdrawal is the stringent EU import quotas on coils, which would have prevented them from supplying Dudelange with coil volumes produced in Turkey.”
The facility has remained inactive for more than two years, with the exception of a production test conducted in July 2024. The Dudelange site is currently being kept operational by a small team performing essential equipment maintenance. The Luxembourg government has designated Olivier Wagner to serve as the receiver. He is reportedly pessimistic about the prospects of a future sale.
The government retains ownership of the land and is expected to issue new concession rights to the potential owner. Tosyali was not available to comment before press deadline.
In December, the Luxembourg commerce tribunal declared the Dudelange facility bankrupt (see Kallanish 4 December 2024). In addition to Dudelange, Liberty plans to divest its Magona facility in Italy and its Belgium-based Liege plant. The three businesses combined possess rolling capacity exceeding 2.5 million tonnes/year.
The Magona facility remains operational but is running at or below half of its production capacity. According to a source in Italy familiar with the matter, a potential buyer has been identified, and the sale process is now underway. The source attributes this progress largely to strong involvement from the government, which has actively pushed to secure a buyer for the site.
Liberty Steel’s Liège facility in Belgium was declared bankrupt on 22 April. Potential buyers include NLMK and ArcelorMittal, according to sources.
Liberty Galati in Romania has recently restarted pig iron production at blast furnace no.5, after an almost year-long stoppage. Poland’s Huta Czestochowa has produced over 100,000t of steel since resuming production in January after a year-long hiatus. It was declared bankrupt last year under previous owner Liberty Steel. In February Liberty Ostrava’s insolvency administrator initiated the sale process of the bankrupt steel plant with the approval of the creditors committee (see Kallanish passim).
Natalia Capra France
