Italian consortium intends to acquire part of the assets of Acciaierie d’Italia

Italian steel companies, including Marcegaglia, Sideralba, Eusider, Industrie metalli Cardinale, are uniting in a consortium to acquire certain assets of Acciaierie d’Italia. At the same time, the main plant in Taranto remains in the sphere of interests of international investors, il Giornale reports.

The consortium, led by Marcegaglia, focuses on plants in Novi Ligure, Racconigi, Salerno, and one facility in France. Nevertheless, two large companies – Indian Vulcan Green Steel and Azerbaijani Baku Steel – intend to acquire the entire Acciaierie d’Italia complex.

India’s Vulcan Green Steel already had an attempt to acquire Ilva in 2017, but lost out to ArcelorMittal. Azerbaijan’s Baku Steel, for its part, is working closely with the Italian government and is considering the possibility of supplying gas to decarbonize production through a floating regasification unit.

According to sources, both companies have been intensively inspecting facilities in Taranto and other regions. However, due to the complexity of the negotiations and technical nuances, the final decision may not be made until early next year.

The deadline for bids to acquire the assets of Acciaierie d’Italia, which is in administration, is likely to be postponed from November 30 to January 10, 2025, giving companies more time to finalize their decisions.

The sale of the company includes ten assets, of which the key ones are owned by Ilva S.p.A. and managed by Acciaierie d’Italia under a lease until 2030. According to the commissioners, the deal could bring in about €1.5 billion. These funds will be used to rebuild the company’s infrastructure and technological development: €1 billion is earmarked for equipment modernization and another €680 million for the implementation of innovative solutions.

At the same time, Acciaierie d’Italia has faced new environmental challenges. The Italian Ministry of Environment has demanded a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions from blast furnace No. 4 in Taranto. An Ispra inspection found that the levels exceeded the permissible limits, and the company was given 30 days to resolve the issue.

The Italian consortium is positioning itself as an alternative to international players, emphasizing the importance of keeping part of the production in national hands. However, regardless of the winner, the modernization of Acciaierie d’Italia will be an important step in the green transformation of the Italian steel industry.

On October 15, 2024, Acciaierie d’Italia restarted blast furnace No. 1 at its Taranto plant. As the company said in a statement the day before, this is an important step in ADI’s recovery plan and confirms the commitment of the special commissioners, the Italian government and the company to continue to restore production activities at the steel plant.

Prior to the launch of BF No. 1, only blast furnace No. 4 was in operation in Taranto. Blast Furnace No. 5 has been out of service for several years, while Blast Furnaces No. 1 and No. 2 were shut down a few months ago.

ADI plans to reach production of 1.9-2.2 million tons of steel in 2024. However, sources believe that actual production will be lower. Blast furnace No. 2 is scheduled to restart in the first quarter of 2025.