Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI) is continuing talks with the Azerbaijan consortium comprising Baku Steel, Azerbaijan Investment Company, Jindal Steel International, and Bedrock Industries Management. Multiple Italian companies are also joining the race for ADI’s individual assets, sources close to the matter tell Kallanish.
Marcegaglia and Sideralba are reportedly interested in the tubemaking facility in Salerno, southern Italy. Eusider, Profilmec, and Marcegaglia have shown interest in the Racconigi tube plant near Cuneo in northern Italy, while Marcegaglia is also said to be eyeing the Socova tube mill in Sénas, southern France. The interest, which excludes the Taranto plant, is seen as part of a broader market consolidation strategy.
SiderAlba acquired the former Ilva coil rolling facility at Bizerte in Tunisia in 2017, which processes pickled and zinc-coated coils.
The second tender for the sale of the steelmaker opened on 1 August, with the process expected to conclude by October. The move is intended to give other potential buyers the opportunity to submit offers. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMT) reached an agreement with local authorities on Taranto’s decarbonisation, marking a significant step towards the long-awaited programme agreement with them (see Kallanish passim).
“It is unacceptable that uncertainty still prevails in Taranto: the programme agreement has not been implemented, and we are stuck with a simple memorandum from 12 August that changes nothing. There is talk of new buyers, but the same names keep coming up, with no clarity on the assets or on the decarbonisation path,” general secretary of the Uilm unions Rocco Palombella told national television news outlet Rainews24. “In the meantime, workers remain suspended in uncertainty over requests for wage support, which risk expanding further.”
Natalia Capra France
