Liberty Steel has submitted an offer for the lease of the Czestochowa plate mill through fully-owned subsidiary Poviglio sp. z.o.o. The offer incudes providing the immediate funds needed to pay outstanding bills and employees’ September salaries.
Bankruptcy proceedings against Czestochowa were resumed in September after a brief pause. Besides bidding to lease the plant, Liberty is appealing the proceedings. The group said last month Czestochowa’s creditors had approved the firm’s restructuring plan (see Kallanish passim). It is awaiting the court’s decision on whether to approve the plan or continue with the selection of a new lessee.
“This [leasing] commitment would protect the value of the company’s assets, avoid the mortgaging of the business’s assets and any potential degrading the creditor position,” a Liberty Steel spokesperson says. Liberty claims it is “the only potential lessee of the steelworks which fully understands the complexities of protecting and maintaining this plant and its machinery before the full onset of winter”.
The lease would be delivered by a new management team, headed by Tomasz Sęk, which is composed of seasoned Polish professionals with extensive experience in leading restructuring processes, Liberty notes.
“Once a responsible staged restart is complete, the plant’s new management team sees significant future opportunities for sales growth given that Czestochowa is the only producer of lower carbon, emissions EAF-based heavy plates in the EU,” says Liberty Steel Europe chief executive Thomas Gangl. “We hope that the Trustee confirms our offer as soon as possible so that we can get into the plant and start restoring its machinery to operational effectiveness before the start of winter.”
Czestochowa’s administrator has been searching for a lessee to take over the plant since it initially entered bankruptcy in July. Multiple firms are in the running, including Metinvest and Weglokoks. Czestochowa idled production last year under Liberty’s management.
Adam Smith Poland