The official announcement has arrived: Arcelor Mittal and Marcegaglia are awarded Ilva. After weeks of negotiations and protests from north to south of Italy, the Italian steel company passes into the hands of the consortium Am Investco Italy Srl, whose share capital is held by ArcelorMittal Italy Holding Srl (51%), ArcelorMittal SA (34 %) and Marcegaglia Carbon Steel SpA (15%).
The Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda, today signed the award decree with which Ilva becomes a piece of the largest steel producer in Europe, even if for the definitive handover, it is still necessary to wait for the green light from the EU Antitrust .
“In accordance with the provisions of the tender rules – explains a note from the Mise – an exclusive negotiation phase will immediately take place between the extraordinary commissioners and the successful tenderer aimed at possible improvements to the binding offer, as envisaged by the tender procedure. The minister's decree indicates the priorities on which the commissioners will have to carry out this negotiation".
The decision comes in a day of protests and heavy controversies due to the industrial plan presented by the consortium, in the context of which heavy workforce cuts are foreseen. Ilva currently employs over 14 workers, while Mittal estimates it will have 2018 employees in 9.400 to reach 8.400 in 2023. Not only that, today, June 5, the representatives of Jindal and Delfin, present on the board of directors of AcciaItalia, a rival consortium of Am Investco in race for the award of Ilva, they wrote a letter to the Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda, to the extraordinary commissioners of Ilva highlighting "the looming Antitrust risk" on their opponents and asking, in vain, the number one of the Mise to do take a step back and “award” Ilva to Acciaitalia. The letter also arrived after, over the weekend, the consortium had tried to win the tender by raising the initial offer on price, environmental impact and employment.
