Britain's Liberty Steel firms up offer for Thyssenkrupp steel unit
- Liberty Steel hands in "firmed-up bid".
- Remains convinced that combination is "right answer".
- Deal could create 200-300 mln eur in synergies-analysts.
FRANKFURT: Britain's Liberty Steel, Europe's fourth-largest steelmaker, on Monday said it has submitted an updated offer for the steel division of Germany's Thyssenkrupp.
The move comes about three months after Liberty Steel, headed by metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, unveiled it had made a non-binding indicative bid for the unit, which Thyssenkrupp has put on the block as part of a bigger group restructuring.
"This is an important step for Liberty demonstrating our binding commitment to the combination of the two businesses," Liberty Steel said in a statement, without disclosing any details of the offer.
"Due diligence and our discussions with Thyssenkrupp have so far confirmed that a potential combination of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Liberty Steel is the right answer from an economic, social, and environmental perspective."
Thyssenkrupp, which sources said is also considering a spin-off of its steel division, said it would now carefully examine what Liberty Steel says is a "firmed up bid".
A successful bid by Gupta could create synergies of 200-300 million euros ($243-$364 million), analysts at Deutsche Bank estimate, lower than in a potential tie-up with Tata Steel's European unit but higher than in a deal with Sweden's SSAB.
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