Auction for Romania’s Liberty Galați steel mill fails a second time despite reduced price
The auction round for the Liberty Galați steel mill and the tubular section ended on Friday, June 19, without any result, despite the lowered price of EUR 463 million, down from EUR 709 million, according to the concordat administrators, the consortium Euro Insol and CITR.
According to the consortium, the steps for the sale of the Galați Steel Plant included discussions with several investors who have expressed real interest in the asset, to whom full access to the necessary information for evaluating the investment opportunity was provided.
Also, the asset monetization process was supported by an extensive promotion and identification campaign of potential strategic investors in major markets in the GCC, China, India, the USA, and Singapore.
“We will continue the dialogue with investors who have shown interest in the Plant, and we are working together with creditors to identify the best framework through which this process can lead to a concrete solution. The stakes are too high to stop here. Behind this asset are thousands of people and an entire community that deserves a real chance,” said Euro Insol president Remus Borza in the statement.
Five companies registered for the June 19 auction for the Liberty Galați steel plant, formerly Sidex, with the list of bidders unchanged from the first round held three months ago
Representatives of the plant’s administration said the registered investors are UMB Steel, part of the Umbrărescu family-owned group active in infrastructure, metals, and energy; Metinvest BV, the steel and mining group controlled by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov; Jindal Steel (International), which acquired the Ostrava steelworks in the Czech Republic in 2025; Greek steelmaker Sidenor Steel Industry; and Indian producer JSW Steel.
Liberty Galați is one of Romania’s largest industrial assets and the country’s biggest integrated steel producer. The company entered preventive concordat proceedings in March 2025 after amassing debts of roughly EUR 1 billion. This legal measure prevents insolvency, allows debt restructuring, and the resumption of activity under negotiated conditions.
Three days ago, the administrator of the Liberty Ostrava plant in the Czech Republic, which allegedly has to recover EUR 40 million from Liberty Galati, announced that several important assets of the latter were placed under a prohibition of transfer. According to the Czech company, potential buyers face an additional legal risk after the ban on the transfer of key properties of Liberty Galați, ordered by a provisional measure of the Ostrava District Court, was entered into the Romanian Land Register.
The provisional measure targets assets of Liberty Galați located on the industrial platform in Galați, including production and operational facilities, without further details.
(Photo source: company photo)
