Gupta forges deal with Paris for ex-british Steel factory
SANJEEV GUPTA, the metals tycoon, is snapping up a former British Steel plant in France after it was left out of a previous rescue deal.
His conglomerate, Liberty Steel, has been given permission by Paris to buy the Hayange factory, which was part of British Steel when the business collapsed into insolvency last year.
British Steel was bankrolled by the taxpayer to the tune of £1m a day be- fore the bulk of it was purchased by Jingye, the Chinese firm, last spring.
However, French authorities refused to allow a Chinese buyer to take control of Hayange because it is a strategically important facility and a key supplier for the nation’s train network.
They have now allowed Mr Gupta, the British billionaire, to buy the operation instead.
The deal is a coup for the 49-year-old entrepreneur. The Hayange site in north-east France was seen as the crown jewel of British Steel and was one of its most profitable operations. A French court rejected Jingye’s bid for Hayange, which produces more than 300,000 tons of rail parts annually and has 470 staff, in July due to concerns about Chinese companies taking on nationally important assets
Liberty is also buying the Ascoval steelworks in Saint-Saulve, northern France, from Greybull, which owned British Steel when it collapsed. Ascoval is able to produce 600,000 tons of steel annually and supplies Hayange. Liberty refused to say how much it was paying for the plants or how it is funding the purchase, though it is understood part of the money will come from debt. The deal includes a €65m (£58.5m) cash injection into the facilities.
Mr Gupta said the deal was a landmark moment for the two plants after long-running uncertainty.