A Russian group is close to the acquisition of a controlling stake in one of Ukraine's leading transnational steel companies, Industrial Union of Donbass (ISD), the Financial Times has reported on Wednesday.
Citing two creditors familiar with the situation, the newspaper said that the 50 percent plus one share stake in ISD could be sold later this month in a deal worth up to $2 billion, with Russian state-run bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) playing a role in the acquisition. According to the reports, VEB will only be responsible for financing the acquisition and will not act as a buyer.
The Financial Times states that potential buyers include Alisher Usmanov, the majority shareholder of the Russian steel and iron ore producer Metalloinvest Holding, as well as Russian steelmaker and iron ore producer Evraz Group, which have both expressed interest in purchasing ISD in recent years.
ISD has been experiencing problems with the restructuring of its debt. As of spring 2009, the money the company owed to banks was reported to stand at about $2.8 billion, with payment of a part of the amount already overdue.
In 2008, with an annual production of more than 9.9 million mt of steel, ISD was ranked among the world's 30 largest steel producers.
ISD's main production facilities include the Ukraine-based Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Alchevsk), Alchevsk Coking Plant, and Dneprovsky Iron and Steel Works named after F. Dzerzhinsky (DMKD), as well as the Hungary-based ISD-Dunaferr and Poland-based ISD-Huta Częstochowa.