BackStemcor to sell non-core assets over two years
The UK-based steel trader has cited capital restructuring for the disposing to be conducted over the next two years
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Mumbai: The UK-based steel trader Stemcor Holdings Ltd will continue to sell non-core assets, including those in India, over the next two years following a capital restructuring, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Over the course of the next two years, Stemcor will continue to dispose of non-core activities. This will include the sale of its Indian assets where discussions with a number of interested parties are ongoing," the statement said. “Stemcor’s core business going forward will be a much leaner combination of trading, distribution and stockholding."
Stemcor said the high court in London had sanctioned schemes of arrangement for both its European and Asian revolving credit facilities and that its lenders had approved a new $1.15 billion trade finance and borrowing base facility.
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), JSW Steel Ltd and Aditya Birla group’s Essel Mining and Industries Ltd are said to be the main contenders for Stemcor’s 73% stake in Aryan Mining and Trading Corp. Ltd that holds stakes in an iron ore and a manganese ore mines besides owning a 4 million tonne pellet plant in Odisha connected to the steel plants hub with a slurry pipeline for delivery.
While JSPL and JSW Steel have confirmed they have made bids, Aditya Birla group has not.
JSW Steel and Essel Mining offered $800 million for the assets on 20 January, according to a Bloomberg report. People familiar with the situation in the bidding companies have said all the bidders want to revise the offer down, citing a changed business and economic scenario.
The government imposed a 5% export duty on iron ore pellets a few days after the bids. A report submitted by a commission headed by former judge M.B. Shah on illegal mining could have adverse effects on mining in the largest iron-ore producing state—Odisha—if the government chooses to act on its recommendations.
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