India’s Tata Steel said that it has agreed to start exclusive talks for the sale of its speciality steel assets to metal processing firm Liberty House.
The unit, which has activities mostly in Britain but also in China, employs 1,700 people and produces specialized steel for the aerospace and automotive industries, as well as the oil and gas sector.
However, Tata Steel gave no update on the future of the rest of its UK assets — including Britain’s biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in Wales.
Tata Steel earlier this year decided to offload its loss-making British assets, blaming the move on a global oversupply of steel, cheap imports into Europe from countries including China, high costs and currency volatility.
“Tata Steel UK today announced the signing of a letter of intent with Liberty House Group to enter into exclusive negotiations for the potential sale of its speciality steels business for an enterprise value of £100 million ($125 million, 118 million euros),” it said in a statement.
The activities comprise several assets in South Yorkshire in northern England, including an electric arc steelworks in Rotherham, a steel purifying facility in Stocksbridge and a mill in Brinsworth.

Source: Arab News