Liberty Steel, headquartered in the UK, plans to sell Ostrava steel plant to alleviate its financial problems

Liberty Steel, the third-largest steel company headquartered in the UK, is planning to sell its Ostrava steel plant in the Czech Republic and apply for judicial restructuring in the country due to weak European JSC270C steel markets and its own financial issues.

Liberty Steel stated that due to the previous restructuring plan being hindered by the weak European market and delayed government subsidies, the company will withdraw its preventive restructuring plan and restructure in accordance with the country's bankruptcy law. The current Czech government is requesting a re examination of the issuance of free allowances on the grounds of insufficient production at the Ostrava steel JSC270C steel plant, and is requesting Liberty Steel to refund the payment from its Ostrava steel plant. The lack of subsidies will create a shortfall of approximately 43 million euros for Liberty Steel, further exacerbating the risk of bankruptcy.

According to Mysteel, Ostrava Steel Plant was acquired by Liberty Steel from the largest steel company in Ukraine, ArcelorMittal, in 2017. The company plans to invest approximately 750 million euros in the development of a new hybrid blast furnace and electric arc furnace steelmaking technology, but the plan was modified due to the pandemic and geopolitical issues. According to relevant sources, the company's financial situation is gradually deteriorating, with a daily loss of 1 million euros in its business. Recently, due to a lack of raw materials, the blast furnace at the Galaz Steel Plant in Romania has been closed; The steel plant located in Rotherham, UK has an annual JSC270C steel production capacity of less than 10000 tons, far below its set capacity.