Tata Steel is set to launch a bid for buying the Indian iron ore assets of Stemcor, one of the largest independent steel trading companies of the UK. "Yes, we will make our bid," said Tata Steel Managing Director H M Nerurka.
Stemcor is facing tough times due to the slowdown which has hit the global steel industry and the company has defaulted on as much as USD 1 billion of loans. It is learnt that the firm had started rescue talks with some banks in order to weather the crisis.
The loss in revenue also prompted the company to sell some of its physical assets. Stemcor is planning to sell its iron ore mine in Odisha which is estimated to be worth USD 800 million. Sources added that Tata Steel wanted to acquire Stemcor as it could help the company provide required amount of iron ore to its steel mills in India.
Referring to the issue of allocation of iron-mines for the Odisha project, Nerurkar said that they were yet to achieve any notable progress in this regard. He however, added that the construction work of Kalinganagar project is going at a fine speed.
