Arcelormittal submits bid for insolvent Essar Steel
NEW DELHI: Global steel major Arcelormittal on Monday said it has submitted an offer for debt-laden Essar Steel, which is undergoing insolvency proceedings.
The last date to submit bids was closing on Monday.
Arcelormittal India Private Limited (AMIPL), a subsidiary of Luxemburg-based Arcelormittal, has submitted an offer for Essar Steel India Limited (Essar), the Indian steel company, in-line with the corporate insolvency resolution process for Essar.
"In its offer, AMIPL set out a detailed industrial plan for Essar aimed at improving its performance and profitability and ensuring it can participate in the anticipated growth of steel demand in India. It also highlights the extensive experience and track record of the group in the successful acquisition and integration of under-performing assets, which AMIPL believes would be of considerable value to Essar," the Luxemburg-based firm said in a statement.
Essar would also have access to the deep bench of technical expertise and knowledge from across the group which is unparallelled in the steel industry, it added.
Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO, Arcelormittal, said Essar provides a compelling opportunity for Arcelormittal to enter the high growth Indian steel market. The offer submitted on Monday by AMIPL includes a detailed investment plan to address operational issues in Essar's existing asset base.
"With our industry expertise and renowned operating prowess, we believe we are uniquely equipped to implement a successful turnaround which would be beneficial to Essar s stakeholders," he said.
Aditya Mittal, Group CFO and CEO Arcelormittal Europe, said: "This opportunity aligns with the group's strategy of selectively investing in attractive projects to maximise long-term shareholder value. We believe our technical experience and management know-how, gained from many successful acquisitions and integrations, will ensure success for the various steel and pelletising operations at Essar."
Essar Steel is an integrated flat steel producer. Its main production facility is in Gujarat. It has a nameplate crude steel capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum, although the current maximum achievable crude steel production level is 6.1 million tonnes per annum, due to a bottleneck in the steelmaking and casting process. GREATER NOIDA: Domestic passenger vehicle sales grew by 7.57 per cent to 2,85,477 units in January this year, riding on a robust growth of utility vehicles which posted the second highest ever monthly volume.
According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Monday, domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales were at 2,65,389 units in the same month last year.
Car sales, however, declined by 1.25 per cent to 1,84,264 units last month as against 1,86,596 units in January last year.
"The overall growth in the PV sales in January is as per expectations and is also a reflection of the mood ahead of the Auto Expo," SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said here.
The growth driver continues to be the utility vehicles (UV) segment, as it continued to draw a lot of customers, he added.
UV sales during the month stood at 85,850 units as against 62,263 units in the same month last year, a growth of 37.88 per cent, SIAM said.
"The UV sales in January this year is the second highest in terms of volumes after the highest clocked in July last year at 86,874 units," Mathur said.
The car segment is going through flat sales with the entry level segment not witnessing new model launches while customer preference has been shifting towards crossovers and compact SUVS, he added.
In January, market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted a growth of 4.05 per cent in its domestic PV sales at 1,39,189 units. Rival Hyundai Motor India saw a growth of 8.31 per cent at 45,508 units. Homegrown Mahindra & Mahindra registered a growth of 17.73 per cent at 23,656 units, while Tata Motors saw its PV sales jump 48.58 per cent to 21,872 units.
According to SIAM, total two-wheeler sales in January were higher by 33.43 per cent to 16,84,066 units compared to 12,62,140 units in the yearago month.
Mathur said this reflected the overall strong demand for motorcycles and scooters in rural as well as urban markets.
Motorcycle sales last month jumped by 28.64 per cent to 10,54,062 units compared to January 2017.
Market leader Hero Motocorp posted a growth of 24.39 per cent in its domestic motorcycle sales at 5,43,325 units as against 4,36,771 units in the year-ago month. Rival Honda Scooter and Motorcycle India (HMSI) sold 1,69,537 units as compared to 1,39,161 units in the same month last year, a growth of 21.82 per cent.