US investment firm Flacks Group has updated its bid to acquire Italian steelmaker Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI), formerly known as Ilva, after the Milan Court of Appeal ordered the shutdown of the hot production area, Flacks Group told McCloskey.
On 27 July, the Milan Court of Appeal ordered that ADI shut down operations in the hot section of its Taranto steel plant within the next 90 days. The Milan court originally ordered the suspension of production at the plant on health grounds in late February 2026, but the ruling was conditional on the completion of the required environmental interventions.
Flacks Group developed the updated proposal through the newly established company Flacksider, with the objective of ensuring industrial continuity and building a new low-emission steelmaking facility.
Flacksider’s proposal includes the participation of Flacks Group together with other strategic partners, including equipment supplier Danieli and Ukrainian group Metinvest, according to Flacks Group. The company also believes that state involvement will be crucial to support the industrial transition.
“The Italian government acknowledged that the current sale process can no longer continue under its original terms,” a Flacks Group source said. “For this reason, the government announced that a new tender process will be launched, as the previous one covered both the hot-end and cold-end operations and has effectively been overtaken by the court’s ruling.”
The Italian authorities have not announced the schedule for the new tender yet. The next meeting to analyse the updated proposals will be held by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) on 5 August.
Another potential buyer is India’s Jindal Steel, which expressed interest in acquiring ADI in March, returning to the race for the mill after withdrawing in 2025.
Before the recent court order, potential buyers had presented decarbonisation plans to replace the existing blast furnaces (BFs) with a direct-reduced iron (DRI)-electric arc furnace (EAF) production route to reduce emissions. In addition, market participants suggested that Jindal Steel would also ship low-CO2 steel slab from its new plant in Oman to re-roll at ADI.
To learn more about decarbonization projects in Italy, Oman and globally – see McCloskey’s Global Green Steel Profile.
Flacks Group criticized Jindal Steel, claiming that “the future of Taranto should be based on new low-emission steelmaking facilities located in Italy, capable of ensuring industrial production, employment and Europe’s strategic autonomy.”
Author: Maria Tanatar
