JSW Steel-Piramal To Bid For Bhushan Steel, JFE Steel Opts Out
JSW Steel’s Japanese business partner, JFE Steel, has walked out of the Bhushan Steel bidding.
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JSW Steel Ltd. and Piramal Enterprises Ltd. are bidding jointly for Bhushan Steel Ltd. after Japanese company JFE Steel Corp walked out of the alliance, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
JSW Steel had roped in its Japanese business partner JFE Steel and Piramal Enterprises to bid jointly for Bhushan Steel, the maker of auto-grade steel in India undergoing insolvency proceedings for non-payment of dues.
Email queries sent to JSW Steel and other two companies to seek response remained unanswered. The bid for Bhushan Steel closes today.
Besides JSW Steel, Luxembourg-based multinational steel firm ArcelorMittal and domestic industry major Tata Steel and are said to be in race for Bhushan Steel.
Asked if JSW Steel could lower its bid as Japanese partner has opted out now, the source said, "JSW is in expansion mode, no matter one partner has gone, JSW can even increase the bid along with Piramal. It will be a 50:50 partnership now".
JSW Steel reportedly had plans to offer Rs 30,000 crore, double of the liquidation amount, for Bhushan Steel. Liquidation value is the minimum value set for a stressed asset by the committee of creditors.
Bhushan Steel is the third largest secondary steel producer in the country with an existing steel production capacity of 5.6 million ton per annum, according to information on its website.
JSW Steel is in expansion mode and is also evaluating various opportunities for acquisitions to achieve the target of becoming 40 mt by 2030.