ArcelorMittal rejects Italy’s claims regarding Acciaierie d’Italia

The company notes that it has filed several lawsuits related to damages caused to investments

The former owner of Italy’s Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI), ArcelorMittal, rejects Italy’s claims regarding the former Ilva. This is stated in the company’s statement.

Earlier, ADI’s state-appointed extraordinary administrators filed a lawsuit in a Milan court, demanding €7 billion in damages from ArcelorMittal, citing improper management on the part of the latter.

ArcelorMittal confirmed that Acciaierie d’Italia’s commissioners had served the relevant summons. However, the company said it saw “no factual or legal basis” for the claim and rejected the allegations, including the assertion that it had induced directors and local management to mismanage the plants as part of a strategy to destroy Acciaierie d’Italia and its business and ultimately extract profits from Italy.

ArcelorMittal noted that it had invested around €2 billion to restructure the structurally troubled business, with a significant portion of the funds going toward compliance with environmental standards set by the government.

In turn, the company accused the Italian government of “inaction and illegal legislative interference,” which undermined the conditions under which it acquired the plants.

In particular, ArcelorMittal recalled that in 2019, less than a year after the company began leasing the business units, the Italian government abolished the legal guarantees necessary to implement the environmental plan without the risk of criminal liability arising from the status of the plants. According to the statement, this led to the failure to fulfill the preliminary conditions of the purchase and, ultimately, to the global steel producer’s withdrawal from the relevant lease agreement, which was then settled.

The company added that it had filed several lawsuits related to the damage caused to its investments. In June 2025, it initiated international arbitration proceedings against Italy. According to ArcelorMittal, the country illegally expropriated its investments and took measures that were “discriminatory, unfair, disproportionate, and contrary to legitimate expectations.” These actions, it is claimed, caused serious damage to the company, led to the loss of its investments, and negatively affected broader interests in Europe. The total amount of the claim for damages exceeded €1.8 billion.

It should be recalled that the government took over the management of the Taranto plant in early 2024. At the end of 2025, two US investment funds, Bedrock Industries and Flacks Group, submitted binding offers for Acciaierie d’Italia, which was in a difficult situation.