According to media reports, a tribunal in Strasbourg has rejected the bid made by the Chinese rebar producer Jingye Group in order to buy British Steel’s former Hayange rail mill located in northeast France, due to growing concerns about Chinese investments in Europe.
The French court is reported to have accepted the offer from UK-based international industrial and metals group Liberty House. The deal is still subject to approval by the French Ministry of Finance. Liberty has declined to comment on the issue.
The Chinese company had pledged to make an investment worth €60 million over the next five years in the Hayange rail mill which produces metal tracks for railways without resorting to public funding, SteelOrbis understands.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, Jingye Group has acquired the UK’s second-largest steelmaker British Steel’s assets in the UK and the Netherlands, but the acquisition does not include British Steel’s French operations at Hayange. The acquisition of the Hayange mill is subject to negotiations with the relevant authorities in France.