Metinvest has confirmed a preliminary interest in Romania’s 3 million mt/year integrated iron and steel works Liberty Galati.
The Ukrainian mining and steel company confirmed to Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, it is examining the feasibility of such an acquisition and the potential synergies with its business, but added it has not yet put in a bid.
Given the Romanian state’s exposure to around Eur400 million of Liberty Galati’s cumulative debt, in mid-September the government set up the Committee for Protecting the State Interests at the Galați steel plant, according to its website.
The committee has been investigating a loan granted to the producer for the restart of its blast furnace No. 5, which came online earlier this year, but for a short period only. It has also been assessing the intentions of potential investors interested in acquiring or supporting the production activities of the steelmaking asset.
It did not specify those companies or persons, but local media mentioned Dorinel Umbrarescu, the owner of Romanian construction group UMB, as another candidate.
The state’s interest is to maintain the domestic steel industry functioning because the entire construction sector in Romania relies heavily on metal production, and also because Romania will have additional gas production from 2027, and so it would be illogical not to produce key metal components domestically, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said during his last month’s press conference.
In September, the plant’s administration notified the unions that technical unemployment would continue through October, with prospects for production to resume being slim, according to the Romanian government’s website.
The restructuring plan for Liberty Galati, approved by creditors and confirmed by the Galati Court in August 2025, is meant to help the steel mill avoid insolvency and implies securing the financing, and collaboration with potential investors.
