Vallourec close to agreement for sale of Saint-Saulve steel mill to Ascometal
Vallourec, the listed French premium tubular solutions producer, is understood to have reached a “rep-agreement” for the sale of its Saint-Saulve steel mill to French industrial group Ascometal, French daily Les Echos reported. The report claimed that the company could announce the sale of a 60% stake in the business as soon as this week. The report cited a labour union representative as saying that he was confident and reassured about the industrial plan, which the employees’ representatives and the regional authorities are favouring.
According to the report, a meeting has been scheduled tomorrow Tuesday 16 February between the parties. While a spokesperson for Vallourec claimed that the negotiations were progressing well, the report cited Frank Supplisson, head of Ascometal, as claiming that there was still an issue about the EUR 20m financing need that needed to be cleared. The report noted that the financial means of Ascometal are “limited” and that the regional authorities could take part in the deal to help with the financing.
According to the report, the Saint-Saulve steel mill has 350 employees and is a modern and very performing production site that attracted the interest of other potential buyers, including a financial investor and two corporate would-be buyers, pf which one European steel group.
The report noted that Vallourec is expected to publicly releases its annual results on 18 February.
The original article appeared in print page 19.
Source Les Echos