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Network Rail Plans to Bid for British Steel Unit, Telegraph Says

Network Rail Plans to Bid for British Steel Unit, Telegraph Says

(Bloomberg) -- Network Rail is preparing an offer for British Steel Ltd.’s rail service center unit, the Sunday Telegraph reported, without saying where it got the information.

The offer is one of about 10 bids expected to be submitted to the official receiver that took over British Steel last month after owner Greybull Capital couldn’t obtain a 30 million-pound ($38.1 million) government bailout, the newspaper said. The receiver said there isn’t a definitive offer deadline. However, bids are expected by Monday and some may be for all of British Steel, while the rest are for parts, the Telegraph said.

Network Rail, controlled by the U.K. government, owns and operates 20,000 miles of track in the U.K. and is a major British Steel customer. A bid could be perceived as an indirect way to nationalize part of British Steel, the Telegraph reported. Network Rail said it continues to support British Steel and “working with the liquidator, any new buyer of the company.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Burke in London at hburke2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kristine Aquino at kaquino1@bloomberg.net, James Amott, Heather Burke

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