Mumbai: Indian conglomerate Tata Steel, which had set a deadline of Monday afternoon for final bids for its British steel operations, on Wednesday said that it has not reached a decision on shortlisting any of the seven bidders for selling its loss making operations in Britain.
According to reports, Tata Steel had decided to finalise and shortlist the bidders at its board meeting on Wednesday but the meeting ended inconclusive. As many as seven bidders have expressed interest to acquire Tata Steel’s British steelworks.
At a press conference after the board meeting, Tata Steel CFO Koushik Chatterjee said tha the company was still evaluating offers for the UK business.
“We haven’t shortlisted any bidder for Tata Steel UK assets. We are in talks with the British government,” he said.
Meanwhile, there are also reports that Tata Steel is considering keeping its UK business, raising hopes that the Port Talbot steelworks and 11,000 jobs can be saved. Reports said that the company is evaluating the performance of its UK operations and the package of financial support that the government has offered.
Ahead of yesterday’s board meeting in Mumbai, Sajid Javid, UK Business Secretary, held talks with Tata Steel. He is thought to have asked it to consider keeping the business. This was the second meeting between Javid and Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry to find a solution to save jobs at British operations of the Tatas.
When asked about keeping Tata Steel UK, Chatterjee did not rule it out and said the management team were still looking at continuing and sustaining the business.
No guarantees of success, says Cameron
British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday warned that there is no guarantee that attempts to save 11,000 jobs at Tata Steel UK will succeed. Cameron said that his government was doing everything it could to secure a buyer for the business.
“We have just got to stick at it and do everything we can to try to bring this to a successful conclusion. As I’ve always said there are no guarantees. We can’t guarantee this is going to work. We continue to work towards trying to get a good outcome for Tata in south Wales. The sales process is underway, there have been an encouraging number of serious bids from companies coming through. We’ve got to stick at it to try to bring this to successful conclusion,” he said.
Tata had announced plans in March to sell its loss-making units in UK as a result of a global slump in steel prices due to a glut of exports from China and high energy costs. Around 11,000 jobs at Port Talbot in Wales and 11 other UK sites hang in the balance.
Indian-origin businessman Sanjeev Gupta owned Liberty House and a management buyout group Excalibur Steel - are believed to be the two front runners for the deal.
Besides, Liberty House and Excalibur, family investment fund Greybull Capital, India’s second-biggest steel maker JSW Steel, China’s Hebei Iron and Steel group, US steel giant Nucor and Leeds-based turnaround fund Endless are among those interested to save the works. Greybull, which is buying Tata’s Scunthorpe steelworks for a token 1 pound, is believed to be keen on a deal for Port Talbot. However, JSW has distanced itself, saying its interest was “exploratory”.
Gupta’s acquisition plan revolves around gradually replacing blast furnaces with electric arc furnace on the site, as part of his company’s GreenSteel strategy.
The Tatas had acquired Corus Steel in April 2007 at the peak of commodity price hike cycle for over USD 12 billion, but has since then never been able to turn it around.
