Cleary Gottlieb is representing ArcelorMittal in the auction sale of its long carbon steel plant Arcelor Thüringen GmbH to the Spanish Grupo Alfonso Gallardo for an enterprise value of €591 million. The transaction was announced on December 6, 2006 and is expected to close in the beginning of 2007, subject to the European Commission approval and antitrust clearances.
With the sale, ArcelorMittal fulfills one of the conditions set by the European Commission following Mittal’s takeover of Arcelor. ArcelorMittal will also dispose of Arcelor’s medium section mill Travi e Profilati di Pallenzano in Italy and Mittal’s bar mill Huta Bankowa in Poland.
Arcelor Thüringen GmbH is a 100 percent subsidiary of ArcelorMittal located in Unterwellenborn, Thuringia. Arcelor Thüringen employs approximately 700 people and achieved a total turnover of more than €400 million in 2005.
ArcelorMittal is the world’s number one steel company, with 330,000 employees in more than 60 countries. The group reported revenues of $43 billion in the first half of 2006, with approximate production capacity of 130 million tons a year, representing around 10 percent of world steel output.
Grupo Alfonso Gallardo is Spain’s largest corrugated steel manufacturer with estimated sales in excess of €2.3 billion in 2006.