Race for Essar Steel hots up

Calcutta: ArcelorMittal and Numetal Ltd are trying to make a case to establish their credentials as turnaround specialists for stressed assets even as their fate as eligible bidders of Essar Steel continues to remain wrapped in mystery, at least till this weekend.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, which boasts of 50 mergers and acquisitions over the past 25 years, cited several global benchmarks in reviving underperforming steel plants across geographies to make a pitch for Essar Steel, which has struggled to operate as a profitable venture on a sustained basis, especially because of a high debt amounting to Rs 44,000 crore.

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, the chairman and CEO of the London-based company, hinted at that after he met finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday.

"I think we can create value in Essar Steel," Mittal said after coming out of a North Block meeting in Delhi.

ArcelorMittal officials cited at least four instances where the company turned around steel assets.

Polskie Huty Stali, which Mittals took over from the Polish government, was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2004. It saw dramatic improvement in its financial parameters after the new owner put in place a 1.25-billion-euro modernisation programme for its hot-rolling mill and long product facilities.

Nova Hut was acquired from the Czech government in 2003 when it was losing money for having an unsustainable amount of debt.

ArcelorMittal invested 300 million euros to pare debt, leading to enhanced productivity and financial sustainability, a company official pointed out.

The ArcelorMittal official also cited recent acquisitions made by the company at Calvert, Alabama, in the US, where the mill was bought along with Thyssenkrupp in 2014. In Alabama, it invested $150 million, which led to improved productivity and rise in profitability.

In 2012, it acquired Tubarão and Vega in Brazil and embarked on an ambitious $750-million capacity enhancement and operational improvement project.

Essar Steel