Trasteel has confirmed to authorities its interest in coil service centre Magona and submitted an offer to lease and subsequently acquire control of the company, sources close to the dossier tell Kallanish.
The move could give a strong boost to efforts to restart the Piombino facility. “Of great concern, however, is the communication from Magona’s lawyers indicating that the administrator of Greensill Bank has yet to respond to Trasteel’s offers. This situation is prolonging an unacceptable period of uncertainty not only for workers, but also for Italian institutions,” Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (Mimit) says in a note seen by Kallanish.
A new round of talks was held last month at Mimit in Rome on the future of Magona, which has been involved in a prolonged crisis following the collapse of its owners, Liberty Steel and its controlling shareholder, lender Greensill Bank. Magona has not operated since August last year, except for a section of the mill operating for two weeks in December, a union source confirms.
“Trasteel has done what was needed to at least lease the company for the moment. We have the buyer but we don’t have the seller,” another informed source comments. Magona is at risk of bankruptcy by mid-June, they add. Trasteel is said to be willing to pay €45 million ($52.93m) to lease the company, a sum that would be deducted from the eventual purchase price.
The collapse of Greensill in March 2021 left Liberty on the brink of insolvency and the firm has since been battling to find new sources of financing to continue operations.
Trasteel was not available for comment before press deadline.
Author: Natalia Capra
