ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia submit offer to acquire Ilva

ArcelorMittal S.A. / ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia submit offer to acquire Ilva . Processed and transmitted by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

30 June 2016 - ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia today announce they have submitted an offer for the acquisition of Ilva.

The offer details the consortium's industrial and environmental plans for Ilva, outlining:

• A commitment to improving Ilva's environmental performance, through the installation of best available technology, bringing Ilva in-line with European environmental standards and legislation;
• The intention to increase Ilva's primary utilisation rate, with crude steel production rising from the current level of c. 4.8 million tonnes per annum, to over 6 million tonnes per annum by 2020, and to maintain the operation of a minimum of three blast furnaces;
• A major capital expenditure programme aimed at enhancing Ilva's asset capabilities, increasing productivity levels and improving health and safety performance;
• The introduction on new, innovative steel grades, facilitating an increase in the proportion of high value-added steel products in Ilva's product mix;
• A commitment to guaranteeing employment at industry best practice levels;
• The economies of scale from which Ilva would benefit by being a part of ArcelorMittal, including leveraging ArcelorMittal's global research and development expertise, sales and distribution networks, purchasing power, and technical steelmaking and market knowledge.

The submission of the bid is the first step in a multi-stage process that will see only the environmental part of the offer discussed for the next 120 days. Following this period the government will provide more clarity on the next steps of the offer process.

Commenting, Geert Van Poelvoorde, executive vice president and CEO, ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Products, said:

"ArcelorMittal, together with our partner Marcegaglia, has today submitted our offer for Ilva. We believe Ilva represents a compelling investment opportunity for ArcelorMittal, without compromising our balance sheet strength, as it would extend our leadership position and increase our product offering in Italy, Europe's second largest steel manufacturing and consuming market.