The European Commission has announced that it has approved the transaction between the ArcelorMittal and Liberty groups to take over a group of steel plants in Europe, including Galati. The acquisition by Liberty of the seven steel combines owned by ArcelorMittal will create the third steel producer in Europe.

“We have reached an important moment now that a new page in the history of the Steel Plant is being written: The European Commission has approved the transaction between ArcelorMittal and Liberty House groups after it has overseen over the past few months both the complex sales process and our current operations. This change means the increase of production volume and it brings many opportunities for us.

The property transfer process will be completed shortly. We will have a new identity, that of the Liberty Group, but our values remain the same. All commitments made to our customers or suppliers remain unchanged. With the help of our partners, we have succeeded in consolidating our position in the market during the last year when our business was autonomous as regards ArcelorMittal. We are already prepared to take advantage of the developments and upgrades announced by the Liberty House Group,” said Bogdan Grecu, Chief Executive Officer of Galati Steel Plant.

ArcelorMittal has been trying for a few years to buy Ilva’s steelworks in Italy, which is why the European Commission has pre-empted the possibility of selling some of the holding’s European assets in order to remain at the optimum level of economic concentration. Sidex has been a part of the units to sell in order to reach this figure.