RO steel mill Liberty Galati not touched yet by owner’s financial problems

Liberty Galati, Romania's biggest steel producer, says its operations are not yet touched by the credit crunch faced by its owner - GFG Alliance.

"We have enough working capital. The high steel prices are helpful," the company's officials said.

British group GFG Alliance, controlled by Sanjeev Gupta, took over the Romanian still mill from ArcelorMittal in 2018 in an international deal that also included other production assets.

In June 2020, the group announced a EUR 1.2 bln investment plan at the Romanian plant to make it carbon-neutral within five years.

GFG Alliance now faces financing problems after Greensill, its main financier, went into insolvency. In February, GFG told Greensill that it would be insolvent without its funding, according to a court filing quoted by Bloomberg.

The group's financial problems have been widely covered by the international financial media in recent weeks. Romania's Economy Ministry says it is monitoring the situation at Liberty Galati, given that it is a major company in the national industry.

"We found out about Sanjeev Gupta's situation for some time. We discussed the situation internally, given that it is related to a major company in the national industry," said representatives of the Economy Ministry told local Ziarul Financiar.

(Photo courtesy of the company)