Baku Steel Frontrunner to Buy Italian Steelworks: Messaggero

(Bloomberg) -- Baku Steel Company plans to raise its offer for the Acciaierie d’Italia steelworks to around €1 billion ($1.05 billion), making it the frontrunner in the bidding for the plant, newspaper Il Messaggero reported.

The offer will be formalized in the next few days and the government hopes to close the negotiations by March, the newspaper said, without detailing where it got the information. The other main offer is from Vulcan Green Steel, owned by India’s Jindal Steel, according to Il Messaggero.

The Acciaierie d’Italia steelworks, formerly known as Ilva and based in the southern city of Taranto, has been under state-led administration after struggling to sustain production amid rising energy costs and weak demand. Italy is looking for investors to relaunch the company and the country’s steel sector.

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