Four industry groups have filed a takeover offer for the steelmaker French Asco Industries, better known under its brand, Ascometal, which employs 1.350 employees and has been placed in receivership, a-t we learned Tuesday, December 19, of source association.
This is the british group Liberty House, which would be the only one to propose an overall recovery specialist for long steel, the Swiss Schmolz + Bickenbach, the Spanish Sidenor, and a fourth actor who had filed a letter of intent prior to the deadline to Monday. According to the Tuesday edition of the newspaper The World, it would be the Italian Beltrame.
A source close to the case has confirmed to Reuters the receipt of several bids, including an overall that would have the favors of the company. Ascometal has five industrial sites, including Lorraine, Dunkerque and Fos-sur-Mer. The unions are also in favour of a solution preserving all of the group, while expressing reservations.
The central committee of business Friday
“You need to see what conditions would make the recovery and what are the clauses suspensives”, told Reuters Yann Amadoro, delegate CGT. “We favor an overall recovery, but this is not necessarily the best offer. It also needs to be a balance between the industrial aspect, social, capital available, the business plan and the ability of the buyer to rebound,” said for his part Jean Wendenbaum, the CFE-CGC.
Schmolz + Bickenbach stated, in a press release, that its bid contemplated “the recovery of the majority of the sites of Asco Industries, to safeguard the majority of jobs on these sites and create new jobs within Ugitech”, the biggest French subsidiary located at Ugine in Savoie.
The swiss group has announced yet a total financial commitment of $ 135 million, of which € 64 million investment in the production tool.
The offers should be presented to the representatives of the staff at a central committee business Friday in Paris and an intermediate audience is scheduled for January 10 at the commercial chamber of the tribunal de grande instance of Strasbourg.
(With Reuters)
