Posted on 24 Aug 2018
The Italian Minister for Economic Development Luigi di Maio has declared that in his view the tender in which ArcelorMittal was awarded the acquisition of the troubled steelmaker Ilva last year is “... not legitimate”.
During the last three months the new minister has looked into the tender and finally confirmed he believes it should be considered unlawful. His view came despite all the authorities having confirmed that there were no substantial legal reasons to cancel the tender. The decision would be therefore in the hands of the Italian government, Kallanish notes.
Despite this announcement, it was confirmed that the Italian government is not yet revoking the existing contract with ArcelorMittal. It will continue to investigate further to understand if it will be in the position to cancel the tender and manage Ilva in a different way.
Luigi di Maio is the head of a party that has campaigned during the last five years for the closure of steelmaking at Ilva in Taranto. According to the existing contract, ArcelorMittal is set to take control of Ilva on 15 September. The company has not yet agreed a labour plan with the unions however and the threats from the Italian government regarding a last-minute cancellation of the contract are continuing.
ArcelorMittal reiterated this week that the company participated in the bidding process "... in good faith" and that it remains committed to the acquisition of Ilva. "We hope to receive the support of the government to reach a successful conclusion to union negotiations as soon as possible," a spokesperson for the group declared.
