On November 28, an agreement was signed according to which Indian steel group Jindal South West Steel (JSW Steel) joined AcciaItalia - the consortium formed by Italian steelmaker Arvedi, Italian holding company DelFin and Italian public investment company Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) a few months ago with the aim of submitting a bid to acquire Ilva.
In October, the Indian group had submitted an expression of interest in joining the consortium after visits conducted by various delegations from the group at the Ilva plants in Taranto, Genoa and Novi Ligure, and after various meetings.
With the addition of Jindal, the goal has been reached to strengthen as much as possible the steel expertise of the consortium. Besides AcciaItalia, ArcelorMittal and Italy-based Marcegaglia are also together seeking to acquire Ilva’s assets.
Experts appointed by the Italian government last summer are evaluating the environmental plans submitted by bidders for the acquisition of Ilva, after which they will analyze their business plans. The choice of the consortium that will acquire Ilva should be made by the end of this year, while the sale is expected to be completed in early 2017.