Lakshmi Mittal and Antonio Marcegaglia expressed some excitement on Tuesday at the prospect of re-launching Ilva as one of the main steel companies in Europe.

In a statement seen by Kallanish, Mittal noted that AM Investco's plan is supported by important investments in Ilva. “Our plan is supported by a significant investment programme that will enable the company to improve its product mix, win back market share and address the environmental issues.  Our teams are excited to have the opportunity to help Ilva re-establish its position as Italy’s premier steel company. Our focus will now be on finalising the sales purchase agreement and starting discussions with various stakeholders,” Mittal says.

Antonio Marcegaglia, meanwhile, notes that the consortium will ensure that every stakeholder “... can benefit from this extraordinary opportunity.”

As reported, ArcelorMittal is the majority shareholder of AM Investco; Marcegaglia and the Italian bank Intesa San Paolo hold a minority share. While ArcelorMittal will aim at including Ilva in its European strategy, Marcegaglia is set to benefit from the supply of slabs and coils to feed the company's re-rolling and processing lines.