Steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta reaches agreement with creditors after raising capital.
Liberty Steel has reached an agreement with its main creditors following a capital increase, paving the way for a restructuring of its UK business, it announced at the end of March. Liberty is part of Gupta's family conglomerate GFG Alliance with businesses in steel, aluminum and energy. The capital raise includes a $350 million bond issue by its Australian division InfraBuild through US investment bank Jefferies LLC and a $350 million asset-backed loan from BlackRock and Silver Point Finance, according to a company statement. The creditors' agreement, which mainly relates to the UK company's debt, will allow Liberty to consolidate its UK steel business under a new entity and corporate structure. Liberty has nine sites in the UK. As part of the restructuring plan, it plans to double crude steel capacity to 2 million tons per year at its long products electric steel mill in Rotherham, northern England. In January last year, Liberty ceased operations at two UK plants and reduced production in Rotherham due to high electricity prices. Source: Liberty Steel
