The European Commission approved on Wednesday 17 April the designation of the Liberty House Group as a suitable purchaser of ArcelorMittal's steelworks, which ArcelorMittal is to sell as part of the commitments it has offered in order to acquire Ilva. It authorised the transaction in question.
In May 2018, the Commission gave the green light to the acquisition of Ilva by ArcelorMittal, subject to several conditions, including the sale of a number of steelworks to a suitable purchaser (see EUROPE 12016/14). The aim was to allay the institution's concerns about competition in the hot-rolled, cold-rolled and galvanised flat carbon steel markets.
ArcelorMittal has identified several plants, and has informed the Commission that it has chosen Liberty House as the appropriate purchaser of the latter. Liberty House Group, headquartered in London, is active in commodities, metals recycling, and the manufacture of steel, aluminium, and engineering products.
In today's decision, the institution first considered Liberty House to be an suitable purchaser of the assets in question. Furthermore, in view of the EU merger rules, it considered that the acquisition of these plants would not create a distortion of competition in the steel industry and therefore authorised the operation. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)