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| Tata Steel: Liberty House to submit bid | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Liberty House, the global metals group, said it will submit an indicative bid to buy Tata Steel’s UK assets on Tuesday. | Liberty House, the global metals group, said it will submit an indicative bid to buy Tata Steel’s UK assets on Tuesday. |
| The company, headed by Sanjeev Gupta, said it would send a letter of intent to Tata and had put together an internal transaction team and a group of external advisers to take the bid forward. | The company, headed by Sanjeev Gupta, said it would send a letter of intent to Tata and had put together an internal transaction team and a group of external advisers to take the bid forward. |
| The commodities trading firm was first to express an interest after Tata announced in late March that it would dispose of its loss-making UK business, including the country’s biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales. | The commodities trading firm was first to express an interest after Tata announced in late March that it would dispose of its loss-making UK business, including the country’s biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales. |
| A Liberty House spokesman said: “Liberty will submit a letter of intent to Tata Steel today (Tuesday) and has put in place a strong internal transaction steering committee and panel of leading external advisers to take the bid forward. We hope to make a further short statement later today.” | A Liberty House spokesman said: “Liberty will submit a letter of intent to Tata Steel today (Tuesday) and has put in place a strong internal transaction steering committee and panel of leading external advisers to take the bid forward. We hope to make a further short statement later today.” |
| Gupta has said if he bids for Tata Steel’s UK business he could do so without cutting jobs at Port Talbot, which employs about 4,000 people. But he said it would take years to turn around the business and that Port Talbot’s giant steelmaking blast furnace would be replaced by electric arc furnaces designed to recycle scrap steel. | Gupta has said if he bids for Tata Steel’s UK business he could do so without cutting jobs at Port Talbot, which employs about 4,000 people. But he said it would take years to turn around the business and that Port Talbot’s giant steelmaking blast furnace would be replaced by electric arc furnaces designed to recycle scrap steel. |
| Liberty House employs about 1,500 people in the UK where it already owns steel plants and has been taking on assets affected by the crisis in the industry. It reopened a steel mill in Newport, south Wales, last year after spending two years reviving the site. In March, Gupta bought two mills in Scotland that had belonged to Tata Steel. | Liberty House employs about 1,500 people in the UK where it already owns steel plants and has been taking on assets affected by the crisis in the industry. It reopened a steel mill in Newport, south Wales, last year after spending two years reviving the site. In March, Gupta bought two mills in Scotland that had belonged to Tata Steel. |
| A management buyout team also intends to lodge a bid under the name Excalibur Steel UK Limited. Excalibur is led by Stuart Wilkie, the head of Tata’s British strip steel business. | A management buyout team also intends to lodge a bid under the name Excalibur Steel UK Limited. Excalibur is led by Stuart Wilkie, the head of Tata’s British strip steel business. |
| Liberty House and Excalibur appear to be the only two credible interested parties in Tata Steel UK, which employs 15,000 people. The government has pledged to support any buyer with hundreds of millions of pounds, including taking a possible stake of up to 25%. | Liberty House and Excalibur appear to be the only two credible interested parties in Tata Steel UK, which employs 15,000 people. The government has pledged to support any buyer with hundreds of millions of pounds, including taking a possible stake of up to 25%. |
| Tata, the Indian conglomerate, has not set a strict deadline for selling the business but it has indicated it will not continue to support the loss-making operation for long. It asked for potential bidders to submit indicative bids this week. | Tata, the Indian conglomerate, has not set a strict deadline for selling the business but it has indicated it will not continue to support the loss-making operation for long. It asked for potential bidders to submit indicative bids this week. |