JSW, Tatas in fight to acquire Bhushan Steel

JSW, Tatas in fight to acquire Bhushan Steel

FPJ BureauUpdated: Thursday, May 30, 2019, 12:25 AM IST
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New Delhi : JSW Steel said on Sunday said that it has submitted resolution plans for Bhushan Steel Ltd, undergoing insolvency proceedings. Separately, sources told PTI that Tata Steel has also submitted a bid for the debt-ridden company. When contacted by the news agency, a Tata Steel spokesperson, however, declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal said in a statement that it has not submitted resolution plans for Bhushan Steel. The highest bidder is expected to be announced on Tuesday, sources told the news agency. February 3 was the last day for submitting bids for the maker of auto grade steel. JSW Steel said it had submitted resolution plans before the 18:00 hrs deadline. “ArcelorMittal can confirm it has not bid for Bhushan Steel, but we remain interested at looking at future opportunities in India,” it said. Bhushan Steel, one of 12 non-performing accounts referred by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) proceedings, owes Rs 44,478 crore to its lenders.  As per Bhushan Steel’s website, it is the third-largest secondary steel producer in the country with annual capacity of 5.6 million tonnes.

Odisha proposal 

Furthermore, the Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW said it has sought permission to acquire 2,980 acres to set up a mega steel plant at Paradip in Odisha and has also sought environmental approvals for the same. “We have applied for a 2,980 acre to set up a steel plant and are awaiting the final approval from Odisha. We are also seeking forest clearance for the plant at Paradip. We will decide on capacity of the plant once we have approvals in hand,” JSW Steel joint managing director and group CFO Seshagiri Rao told the PTI.

  JSW Steel, looking to enter mineral rich Odisha, had originally proposed to set up a 10 mtpa capacity shore-based steel plant. The state is expected to hand over land it had acquired originally for a 12 mtpa steel project proposed by Korea’s POSCO, inJagatsinghpur district. Rao refused to divulge investment details saying they will be finalised post land allocation. The Korean steel giant had in 2005 announced a Rs 52,000 crore investment plan to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant but abandoned those plans after having waited for over a decade to resolve land acquisition hurdles.

JSW Steel is in expansion mode and is evaluating various opportunities for acquisitions, in a bid to achieve its target of becoming a 40 MT producer by 2030, Rao said. JSW is also scouting for other stressed assets, namely Bhushan Power & Steel and Monet Ispat that are all with the NCLT. “We are actively looking at Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel and Monnet Ispat & Energy. We have already submitted the resolution plan for Monnet Ispat and finalise bidding process for Bhushan Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel,” Rao added.

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