Acciaierie Vente, Marcegaglia and Sidenor are amongst the steel companies to have submitted offers to buy French steelmaker Ascometal, part of Swiss Steel, Kallanish understands from sources close to the dossier.
After failing to buy the company in March, Acciaierie Vente has again stepped forward for the specialty steel sites of Hagondange in Moselle, Custines in Meurthe-et-Moselle and Marais à Saint-Étienne in the region of Loire. The offer also includes Ascometal’s CREAS research centre in Hagondange.
Italian re-roller Marcegaglia is said to have shown an interest in the Fos-sur-Mer plant, while Spain’s Sidenor is rumoured to be targeting the Dunkirk Leffrinckoucke plant, as well as Custines. According to another source, a British fund and a Russian steelmaker have shown interest in parts of Ascometal.
The Strasbourg tribunal has scheduled a new hearing on Ascometal for 30 May. The company says in a note that all the offers received are subject to suspensive conditions.
In March, Ascometal was declared insolvent and went into receivership after the proposed sale of its units to Italian long steel producer Acciaierie Venete was terminated.
The potential buyers did not comment before press deadline.
Natalia Capra France