The auction for the sale of Liberty Galați has attracted the attention of investors from the Gulf states

Investment strategies in the region are shifting towards securing strategic production capacity

Investors from the Gulf states may join the bidding for one of Europe’s largest steel assets – the Liberty Galați steelworks. This is according to Gulf News.

Market observers expect significant international interest in the auction, which is due to take place on 19 June, particularly from investors seeking established industrial assets in the EU. As the publication notes, investors from the Gulf states are among those closely monitoring the process. Currently, regional investment strategies are shifting towards securing strategic production capacity alongside traditional financial returns.

The sale of the assets is being carried out by the CITR-Euro Insol consortium in accordance with court-approved restructuring procedures. It is expected to attract strategic industrial players and investment groups from Europe, the Middle East and other countries.

“Investors from the Gulf states are becoming much more strategic in their approach to industrial assets. Financial returns remain important, but investors are increasingly looking to see whether an asset gives them control over capacity and the resilience of supply chains,” noted Paul Dieter Kirlanaru, CEO of CITR.

It should be recalled that in May this year, the Galați court approved a revised plan for the capitalisation of the assets of Romania’s Liberty Galați, paving the way for the resumption of the auction for their sale.

The starting price of the assets has been reduced; it will amount to €444 million for Liberty Galați and nearly €19 million for Liberty Tubular Products Galați.

At the previous stage, five strategic investors from Europe and Asia obtained the technical terms for the takeover, with some of them visiting the steelworks to take part in in-depth discussions on the investment potential. However, none registered for the auction on 12 March or submitted bids. Remus Bora, president of Euro Insol, one of the company’s two administrators, cited the excessively high starting price (€709.1 million excluding VAT) as the reason for this.