Liberty Steel recently
won a bid to take over Hungary’s Dunaferr. According to Hungary’s
Ministry of Economic Development, a local court put the integrated flats
producer into liquidation in late 2022. Liberty will pay €55 million ($61
million) for the Dunaferr plant, beating out India’s Vulcan Steel, Ukrainian
group Metinvest, Swiss-based Trasteel Trading, and local company Trinec
Property.
In its July 11th statement, the Ministry stated
that Liberty originally submitted its bid on July 7. However, the organization
also noted that the “hard work is just beginning. The government is committed
to an outstanding green transition for the future of the steel industry.” They
also went on to add “The operation of the factory is in need of reorganization.
Significant improvements are necessary for the production of higher value-added
products, the modern, 21st-century technological change, and the production of
green steel.”
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Liberty Steel
Inherits Significant Steel-Making Capacity
A Budapest municipal court put Dunaferr into
liquidation in December 2022. At the time, reports indicated that the
steelmaker’s debts exceeded Ft 500 billion ($1.48 billion). The Hungarian
government also asked Liberty to supply volumes of coal to Dunaferr in order to
keep the coking ovens in operation. Reports noted that the plant also restarted
blast furnace No. 2 in February, followed by the cold and hot rolling mills.