British Steel saved from closure as China's Jingye steps in
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Nov 12, 2019
The British Steel works in Scunthorpe, northern England, May 21, 2019.
The BBC reported a £70m rescue deal had been agreed in principle, but a spokeswoman for the potential buyer told Reuters the deal had not been finalised and gave few further details.
The Government announced that the liquidators for the steel business, which had also been in talks with Turkish firm Ataer, have entered into a contract with the Chinese industrial firm.
Turkish military fund OYAK last month pulled out of a deal to rescue British Steel, whose owners, Greybull Capital, had blamed Brexit for the firm's financial collapse.
Stace added that British Steel's output, which is roughly a third of the UK's steel production, not only complements Jingye, but may also open the door for the United Kingdom steel industry to compete globally. "But it's not a done deal".
Jingye Group specialises in iron and steel with additional operations in the tourism, hotel and property sectors.
The news comes after talks with Ataer Holdings stalled in October, following intense weeks-long negotiations which began in August to formalise the deal, where the Turkish military pension fund offered a almost £1bn lifeline alongside the United Kingdom government's £300m in commercial loans, grants and other sources of funding.
He said it was time to embrace cooperation with China, which is extending its worldwide reach through its Belt and Road global development strategy.
The deal will be particularly helpful for Jingye in the short term after the European Union hit Chinese steel with 73.7 per cent tariffs in 2016.
The UK industry has been struggling for a number of years amid claims that China has been flooding the market with cheap steel.
Britain has said it will leave the economic and political bloc, but has yet to agree a departure deal.
According to its website, it has total assets of 39 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) and 23,500 employees.
