British Steel thrown £300m lifeline
Update 19th August 2019
Ataer set to buy British Steel
The Government has named Ataer Holding as the preferred bidder for British Steel.
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said Ataer is a “suitable buyer”, with a deal being negotiated that is reported to offer financial support of £300m from the Treasury.
Ataer, an arm of Turkey’s military pension fund Oyak, owns almost 49% of Turkey’s biggest steel group, Erdemir.
British Steel, Britain’s second-largest steelmaker, was put into compulsory liquidation in May after rescue talks with the Government broke down.
The company was transferred to the Official Receiver, which says it had received “several” bids for the firm, but described Ataer as its “preferred buyer”. The official receiver David Chapman, who is handling the sale alongside EY, said: “I will be looking to conclude this process in the coming weeks.”
Leadsom backs British Steel buyer
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom has said that Turkish Oyak military pension fund Oyak, which has been lined up to buy British Steel, is not a short-term speculator and, unlike its previous private equity owners, has a long-term plan for the business.
Meanwhile, the Mail on Tuesday 20/8/19 reports that EY, appointed to assist the Official Receiver in running British Steel after it went into liquidation, ran up fees of more than £13m.
13th August 2019 Original post.
The future of British Steel could be secured after the Government put together a £300m support package for the company, paving the way for a takeover by Ataer, is a subsidiary of Oyak, Turkey’s military pension fund.
Oyak is itself the largest shareholder in Turkish steelmaker Erdemir.
Discussions between the Official Receiver and Ataer are being led by EY, which has been under pressure from lenders to seal a takeover or begin closing down British Steel’s Scunthorpe site.
A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) spokesperson said: “This government will leave no stone unturned to get a good solution for British Steel at Scunthorpe, Skinningrove and on Teesside. The Official Receiver continues to run the business, whilst the sales process is ongoing.”
It is understood the support package could be worth up to £300m.
British Steel was taken over by the Official Receiver and placed in compulsory liquidation after failing to secure a £30m taxpayer bailout. A taxpayer-backed indemnity is keeping the manufacturer running while the Official Receiver and EY seek a sale.
See previous posts:-
http://cpa.co.uk/british-steel-collapses-into-insolvency/
http://cpa.co.uk/government-in-talks-to-save-british-steel/