Norwegian Green Steel Group In the Running to Buy Collapsed UK Producer

Over 1,000 steel workers in Rotherham and Sheffield are watching the clock. Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) — Britain’s third-largest steel producer — went into compulsory liquidation six months ago after a judge called it “hopelessly insolvent.” Now a Norwegian green steel outfit called Blastr fancies its chances of picking up the pieces.

Who’s Blastr?

Blastr is led by Mark Bula, who’s spent his career dismantling the old blast furnace playbook. He cut his teeth at Nucor and Big River Steel — two companies that showed the industry electric arc furnaces weren’t just a nice idea, they were the future. Blastr’s pitch is a low-cost, low-emission steel chain in the UK and Europe. Ambitious? Yes. Doable? They seem to think so.

There’s also a rumour they’re thinking about moving their holding company from Norway to the UK. Whether that’s contingent on landing SSUK or not, nobody’s saying. What we do know is they’ve brought in Evercore to advise on the bid — the same investment bank the UK government hired to figure out what to do with the wider steel mess.

The Competition

Blastr isn’t the only one circling. Two other bidders have thrown their hats in:

• Arabian Gulf Steel Industries (AGSI) from Abu Dhabi — reportedly sniffing around the National Wealth Fund for financial backing.
• 7 Steel UK — backed by Czech energy tycoon Pavel Tykac, who already owns the Allied Steel and Wire site in Cardiff.

Whitehall insiders reckon a preferred bidder could be named in the next few weeks. But there’s still a real chance none of them can get the financing sorted, so don’t hold your breath.

The Bigger Picture

SSUK’s fate is playing out against a grim backdrop for the British steel industry. The government has been firefighting on multiple fronts:

• It took control of Scunthorpe-based British Steel in April to stop the furnaces going cold — a bailout that’s already cost taxpayers millions with no clear end in sight.
• It funded £500 million in grants Tata Steel to get an electric arc furnace running at Port Talbot — a project that won’t be done until 2027 and will need to re-recruit for when it comes online.

The industry is going through a generational shift whether it likes it or not. The question is who comes out the other side.

What They’re Saying

The Insolvency Service told us earlier this month: “We can confirm that the Official Receiver continues to progress bids for the sale of Speciality Steel UK. This process is ongoing, with the aim to complete a sale at the earliest opportunity.”

Blastr? No comment.

Source: Sky News