Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Liberty completes acquisition of European ArcelorMittal steel assets for €740m

LIBERTY STEEL, part of Indian origin Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance, today (1) completed the acquisition of seven major steelworks and five service centres across seven European countries from ArcelorMittal.

The €740 million deal makes Liberty Steel one of the top ten producers globally, excluding China, with a total rolling capacity in excess of 18 million tonnes covering a wide range of finished products.


This is the largest single transaction undertaken by GFG and brings the Alliance’s worldwide workforce to nearly 30,000 across 30 counties.

The seven sites, which on Monday became part of Liberty, employ over 14,000 people and include the major integrated steel works at Ostrava in the Czech Republic and Galaţi in Romania as well as rolling mills at Skopje (North Macedonia), Piombino (Italy), Dudelange (Luxembourg) and two plants near Liege in Belgium.

The service centres are based in France and Italy.

These operations, with a combined rolling capacity of over ten million tonnes per year, supply steel to multiple sectors across Europe’s industrial heartlands, including: construction and infrastructure products, automotive, aerospace, energy, industrial equipment, consumer products and yellow goods.

Liberty Steel aims to boost sales from these sites by around 50 per cent over the next three years.

Today’s announcement triggers the start of a 100-day review during which Liberty Steel, working with local management, trade unions, customers and suppliers, will complete a comprehensive analysis of the businesses to explore investment opportunities and develop detailed plans to boost competitiveness, extend product range and support sales growth.

In the medium-term Liberty will explore opportunities to produce higher-quality steels with a more flexible production profile.

As part of a global coalition of industrial enterprises, these sites will join Liberty Steel and GFG’s greensteel drive to create an economically and environmentally sustainable business, based on low-carbon production methods.

Sanjeev Gupta, GFG executive chairman, said: “…These businesses will form a key part of our global steel strategy, of building a sustainable steel business, with a fully integrated value chain, from raw materials to high-value finished products that are distributed in high quality markets.”

Liberty Steel was advised by Wyelands Capital, the financial services arm of the GFG Alliance, on the transaction with corporate finance advice provided by Jefferies International Ltd.

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less