Government accepts Esmark bid for steel plant

Government accepts Esmark bid for steel plant

BELGRADE -- The Serbian government accepted on Monday a bid from the Amsterdam-based Esmark Europe B.V. for a strategic partnership in Zelezara Smederevo.

It also "signaled talks aimed at concluding the contract, the press office stated," Tanjug said in its report.

The government accepted Esmark's bid after considering a report by the commission set up to implement a strategic partnership model for the privatization of Serbia's steel mill.

Previously, two tenders were called for the Smederevo steel plant, but no bids were submitted.

The third tender was called on December 5. Three companies submitted their bids, but only the one from Esmark proved to be valid.

"The negotiations on the strategic partnership with the Smederevo Zelezara will begin during this week," Chair of the Commission Bojan Bojkovic told Tanjug after the government meeting.

Serbia's Privatization Agency issued an invitation to tender for a strategic partner with a capital input in the steel plant, where the government is to preserve a 19.99 percent stake in the ownership structure.

James Bouchard, Esmark's founder, chairman and CEO, told Tanjug recently that the company would invest USD 400 million in the Serbian steel plant over the following few years if it won the tender, adding that nobody would lose their job at the plant.

He stressed that Esmark would invest USD 28 million in Zelezara in 2015 alone, and would restart the second blast furnace and make new investments in the central plant.

The steel mill was first sold after the bankruptcy in March 2003 to U.S. Steel for USD 23 million. By early 2012, it was a big exporter and accounted for 13 percent of...