Federacciai, Italy’s steel industry association, has submitted an expression of interest for ADI, Acciaierie d’Italia, the former Ilva steel plants, alongside 14 of its member companies, according to a Federacciai statement on Aug. 18, potentially offering a domestic solution for what was once Europe’s largest integrated steelmaking site.
The move comes as the Italian government continues to seek new ownership for the steelmaker following years of production disruptions, financial difficulties and environmental challenges.
The 14 companies joining Federacciai’s expression of interest represent a broad cross-section of Italy’s steel industry, ranging from specialty steelmakers to producers of carbon steel long and flat products. According to Federacciai’s statement, the companies in the consortium are: ABS Acciaierie Bertoli Safau, Acciaieria Arvedi, Acciaierie Venete, Advanced Steel Solutions (Gruppo Asonext), AFV Acciaierie Beltrame, Alfa Acciai, Compagnia Siderurgica Italiana, Duferco Travi e Profilati, Feralpi Siderurgica, Ferriera Valsabbia, Lucchini RS Holding, Marcegaglia Carbon Steel, O.R.I. Martin and Rubiera Special Steel.
The expression of interest concerns assets that have been at the center of Italy’s industrial policy debate for years, particularly since environmental concerns led to production restrictions at the Taranto facility. The site has a nominal crude steel production capacity of around 8 million metric tons/year and historically operated as an integrated steelworks using blast furnaces.
The breadth of the consortium suggests an effort to bring together the technical expertise and financial resources of Italy’s steel industry to address the complex industrial, financial and legal situation surrounding the former Ilva. However, the consortium’s bid covers only the downstream, or “cold-end,” operations. It does not include the upstream “hot-end” operations in Taranto, the heart of the integrated steelmaking process, where iron ore is converted into liquid steel, the association press officer told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, on the phone on Aug. 19.
The exclusion follows a July 27 court ruling ordering the shutdown of Ilva’s hot-end operations within 90 days on environmental grounds.
The former Ilva assets have been under extraordinary administration since Feb. 20, 2024, when special commissioners were appointed following a request from Italian state investment agency Invitalia and despite opposition from steelmaker ArcelorMittal, then the largest shareholder in Acciaierie d’Italia, or ADI.
ArcelorMittal acquired Ilva from the Italian government in 2018 in a deal valued at Eur1.8 billion ($1.95 billion). The company and the Italian government are now involved in legal disputes over ownership rights and compensation claims.
Before the consortium’s expression of interest, other potential buyers have also previously shown interest in ADI: India’s Jindal Group and US-based Flacks Group.
ADI is currently operating at a sharply reduced rate, with only its No. 2 blast furnace in Taranto, which has a capacity of around 2 million mt/year, in operation. ADI has three blast furnaces at the site, but BF2 is currently the only one running. BF4 began undergoing refurbishment in mid-March, while BF1 remains under seizure by Italian magistrates following a fire on May 7 last year.
Platts assessed domestic HRC in Southern Europe on Aug.18 at Eur710/mt ex-works Italy, stable day over day.
Author: Annalisa Villa
