International industrial and metals group Liberty House has announced that its parent company GFG Alliance has signed a binding agreement to acquire Australia-based mining and steelmaking company Arrium.
Liberty stated that the acquisition is expected to secure the jobs of over 5,500 Australian workers, and includes Arrium’s iron ore mining operations, Whyalla port and rail infrastructure, Whyalla Steelworks, OneSteel Scrap Recycling, OneSteel Secondary Steelworks, Australian Tube Mills and OneSteel Reinforcing, ARC and OneSteel Metal Centres.
Meanwhile, Arrium’s voluntary administrator Australia-based advisory and investment company KordaMentha Restructuring stated that GFG Alliance submitted a modified offer for the sale of Arrium on Tuesday night, July 4, and taking all factors into consideration, including the timeframes required to complete a sale. The administrators and sales advisers decided that GFG Alliance’s offer was superior to the conditional offer of the consortium of South Korean firms, including private equity company Newlake Alliance Management, asset management company JB Asset Management and steelmaker POSCO.
The sale, which is subject to certain approvals, is anticipated to occur in late August this year.