Liberty Ostrava steel plant put up for sale

Liberty Ostrava’s insolvency administrator has started the process of selling the bankrupt steel plant with the approval of the creditors’ committee, Faei reports.

The tender will be held in two rounds. In the first round, interested parties will submit binding offers, and a select number of them will be allowed to participate in the second round.

Interested parties can choose whether they will bid for the entire business (including the coke plant) or without the last asset. The deadline for bids is April 7, 2025.

Prior to this deadline, a preparatory stage will take place, during which interested buyers will sign a confidentiality agreement and pay a deposit, the amount of which is not specified.

“The bidders will receive login details to a virtual room through which they will be given access to information about the Liberty Ostrava plant and transaction documentation,” said insolvency administrator Shimon Petak.

From March 1 to 17, the bidders will be able to inspect the facility and meet with the plant’s management in person or online.

The deadline for submitting binding bids is April 23. The three highest bidders will have the opportunity to raise the price in the second round.

The insolvency officer plans to select the winner of the tender by the end of May this year.

Given the size of the business, the outcome of the tender is likely to be reviewed by the country’s antitrust authority. This may affect the time required to finalize the deal.
Petak expects the sale to be completed by the end of the year.

The insolvency officer noted that the company is in a much better position now than when it was taken over. According to him, at that time, production was halted, the plant had no inventory, and there was a high risk of losing skilled workers. That is why, based on an economic analysis, a tolling financing scheme was introduced.

Liberty Ostrava has resumed production at its hot strip mill after a break of more than a year. The production of flat products has been financed by the Czech Vútkovice Machinery Trade since August last year under an agreement with the company through a tolling project. The raw material is imported slabs.

In October 2024, the plant resumed production of rebar and road fencing under the tolling scheme, and was expected to resume production of seamless pipes. The company was supplied with square and round billets by two separate companies.