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A UAE-based steel company has made an approach to buy Britain’s third-biggest steel producer, months after it was declared “hopelessly insolvent” and fell into the hands of the Official Receiver.
Sky News has learnt that Arabian Gulf Steel Industries (AGSI), which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, is among a small number of parties which have lodged proposals to take control of the Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) business which until last summer was owned by the metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel empire.
The business collapsed into compulsory liquidation in August, sparking a scramble in Whitehall to find a buyer for it as part of efforts to preserve the UK’s steelmaking capabilities.
The SSUK business operates sites at Rotherham and Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire, and across its operations employed close to 1,500 people when it collapsed last summer.
This weekend, it was unclear how advanced any discussions were between AGSI and the Official Receiver, while the terms of any proposal were also unclear.
One source suggested that AGSI might be keen to secure financial backing from Britain’s National Wealth Fund to support a takeover of SSUK and fund a resumption of steelmaking at its sites in Yorkshire.
AGSI describes itself on its website as “the epitome of Net Zero steel”, and has pledged to produce five million tons of steel by 2030, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 95% compared to traditional steelmaking processes.
The company is privately owned and run by its founder and chief executive, Asam Hussain.
AGSI did not respond to an emailed request for comment, but one source expressed scepticism that it would ultimately acquire the Liberty Speciality Steels business.
A number of other parties have also expressed interest in buying the operations in recent months.
Mr Gupta himself had secured backing from third parties including Blackrock, the world’s biggest asset manager, although the prospect of him being chosen to…
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