Five multinational companies are interested in Acciaierie d’Italia – Minister

Five multinational companies have expressed interest in the troubled steel company Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI, formerly Ilva). This was stated by the Minister of Enterprises and Production Adolfo Urso during a meeting with trade unions last week, Kallanish reports.

According to him, three of the five companies have projects that are sufficiently structured.

Urso also said that the government intends to develop a national plan for the development of the country’s steel industry, which will be presented by the summer 2024. It will include the restart of the former Ilva steel enterprises, facilities in Pembino, and Acciai Speciali Terni.

According to Italian Il Sole 24 Ore, ADI’s appointed commissioner Giancarlo Caranto said at a meeting with trade unions and workers in Genoa that an inventory of equipment at the Taranto plant will begin soon. This will determine what measures need to be taken. He clarified that this will help to understand which facilities require routine maintenance and which require emergency maintenance.

In addition, in order to obtain the EU’s permission to provide Acciaierie d’Italia with a €320 million bridge loan, Urso said, the new commissioners must draw up an industrial plan that will demonstrate that the financing can be repaid within the agreed time frame.

In February, a Milan court declared ADI insolvent due to «lack of liquidity.» This officially launched the procedure for placing the company under special administration. This allows the state to inject the necessary funds into Acciaierie d’Italia to guarantee the continuity of production.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in February, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explained her attitude to the nationalization of Acciaierie d’Italia, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and state-owned Invitalia. There will be no state takeover, on the contrary, the government is looking at several private investors who have expressed interest in the project. As the Prime Minister explained, emergency administration was the only possible choice in this case.