The second auction for the sale of Liberty Galați ended without a result

The Romanian steelworks Liberty Galați failed to find a buyer at the second international auction, which took place on 19 June. This was reported by Economica.

Although five companies obtained the technical specifications, none provided the necessary letters of guarantee, even though the starting price for the asset had been reduced from €709 million to €463 million (including Liberty Tubular Products Galați). As previously reported, interested parties included Romania’s UMB Steel, Ukraine’s Metinvest, India’s Jindal Steel International and JSW Steel, as well as Greece’s Sidenor Steel Industry.

“We will continue our dialogue with investors who have expressed an interest and are working with creditors to determine the best framework through which this process can lead to a concrete decision,” said Remus Borza, president of Euro Insol, one of the two members of the consortium managing the restructuring.

According to the consortium, steps taken to sell the asset in Galati included negotiations with several investors who had expressed genuine interest and who were granted full access to the information required to assess the investment opportunities.

The process was also supported by an extensive marketing and outreach campaign targeting potential strategic investors in key markets in the Gulf states, China, India, the US and Singapore.

As Paul-Dieter Kirlenaru, CEO of CITR, stated, although the auction did not result in any bids, the outcome does not reflect a lack of interest in the steelworks.

He added that the process does not end here; the administrators, together with the creditors, will explore all available options, whilst also taking into account the pressure on the steel market – an external factor that cannot be ignored.

It should be recalled that it was previously reported that the auction for the sale of Liberty Galați could attract the attention of investors from the Gulf states.