AMSA, IDC reopen deal talks with non-binding offer for mills

Key topics:IDC resumes talks to acquire ArcelorMittal South Africa operationsAMSA closes two mills, one mine, keeps Vanderbijlpark mill runningShares surge 11% as discussions focus on sustaining local steel sector.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Loni Prinsloo and Antony Sguazzin.ArcelorMittal SA and South Africa’s biggest development-finance institution have resumed talks over the potential acquisition of the Luxembourg-based steel giant’s operations in the African country, after failing to lure other suitors. The Industrial Development Corporation will submit a non-binding offer for the business, said the people, who asked to not to be identified because the information is still private. Late last year, talks between the parties fell apart without a deal after ArcelorMittal didn’t accept an informal proposal of about 8.5 billion rand ($523 million), which would have included the repayment of 7 billion rand in debt to the South African unit’s parent.Shares in ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd., known locally as AMSA, surged as much as 11% to the highest since November in Johannesburg on Thursday. Talks between ArcelorMittal, the IDC and South Africa’s trade and industry department started in November 2023 when AMSA announced it planned to shut two steel mills that produce grades that are crucial to the country’s key automotive and mining industries. Those discussions became exclusive last year when the IDC, which holds about 8% of AMSA, granted the steelmaker a loan to stave off the closure..Read more:.Miningweb: Power crunch forces Glencore to close two South African smelters.ASMA has now closed the two steel mills and an iron-ore mine. It still operates a mill in Vanderbijlpark, south of Johannesburg, which produces steel sheets and other products and has idled facilities in the capital, Pretoria, and in the west coast town of Saldanha. The IDC sees its mills as crucial to the nation’s industrial sector.AMSA declined to comment. An IDC spokesperson said it continues to engage AMSA, the ArcelorMittal Group and other stakeholders, including the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, to find a sustainable solution to challenges facing the company.AMSA, formerly known as Iscor, was acquired by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal in 2003. Mittal in 2006 combined with Arcelor to form ArcelorMittal. .© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

AMSA, IDC reopen deal talks with non-binding offer for mills

Related Stories

Deepfakes, boiler rooms, and bully tactics – The truth about FXSI: the scam targeting the BizNews tribe

Boardroom Talk: Berkshire after Buffett, the $373bn cash pile, and refusing to chase AI hype

Could China help make Africa a factory for the world?

Boardroom Talk: Why CR's Washington appointment is brilliance