Two firms have expressed interest in buying the available assets of Tata Steel UK Ltd, setting up rival bids that could help revive the troubled industry in Britain.
Commodities trading firm Liberty House on Tuesday said that it has submitted a letter of intent to bid for Tata’s available assets in the UK, including the massive Port Talbot steel works in south Wales.
A second group planning a management buyout, Excalibur Steel UK Ltd, has also registered a letter of intent. It is led by Excalibur chief executive Stuart Wilkie, who previously was the hub director of Tata Steel’s Strip Products in the UK.
Photo: AFP
Liberty said its bid uses a model that will involve a transition of steelmaking in blast furnaces “to recycling steel in electric arc furnaces over time.”
The company also said Cambridge University professor Julian Allwood — who has studied reducing carbon emissions by making less new materials — has joined the team of external advisers.
“Steelmaking would be ultimately powered by renewable energy sources,” the company said in a statement. “Liberty believes the UK steel industry can achieve long-term viability if based on an agile, sustainable, non-cyclical model.”
Wilkie said Excalibur’s project has made enormous advances in the two weeks since making the decision to pursue a buyout.
“We believe we have a large number of the pieces in place required to make this a success, including a management team with vast experience of steel making and processing,” Wilkie said. “We are confident we can turn the business around and sustain profitable steel-making in the United Kingdom.”
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