Tata Steel UK Sells to Greybull Capital for Nominal Consideration
Image courtesy of Tata Steel
Tata Steel UK Ltd. has sold Long Products Europe to Greybull Capital for a nominal consideration. As part of the agreement, Greybull will take on the entire business including assets and relevant liabilities as well as securing an “appropriate” funding package. Around 5% of Tata Steel’s output, or 140,000 tons of rail a year, supplies Network Rail.
The agreement will be complete following the resolution of issues including the transfer of contracts, Government approvals and the completion of financing arrangements. The sale includes UK-based assets including the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York and distribution facilities, as well as a mill in Northern France.
The agreement results from negotiations between Tata Steel UK and Greybull Capital, and is crucial to the continuation of steelmaking in Scunthorpe and steel processing in the UK and France. Long Products Europe has 4,800 staff, 400 of whom are located in France and the remainder in the UK.
Bimlendra Jha, Executive Chairman of the stand-alone Long Products Europe business, said:
“Today marks a significant milestone in the sale of the Long Products Europe business. This sale is the best possible outcome for employees who have worked relentlessly to ensure the business’s survival, and helped to make it attractive to a potential buyer.”
Hans Fischer, Chief Executive of Tata Steel’s European operations, said:
“Under these current challenging market conditions in Europe with the soaring levels of imports from China, we are happy that Tata Steel UK and Greybull Capital have entered the final stage of completion of the sale of shareholding in Longs Steel UK. This transaction will offer a future for the Long Products Europe business and its 4,400 employees in the UK.”