Jingye Group completes acquisition of British Steel

CHINESE steel company Jingye Group has completed its acquisition of British Steel on Monday (9).

Chinese business said that the takeover would save over 3,000 jobs in Scunthorpe and Teesside and it would modernise the towns' steelworks.

Despite the latest acquisition, about 450 workers still face losing their jobs.

British Steel employed about 5,000 people at the time of its collapse.

Jingye completed the acquisition of the company’s UK and Netherlands assets from the Official Receiver.

The latest deal marks a critical step in securing a long-term, sustainable future for steelmaking in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East.

As part of the deal, Jingye Group has pledged to invest £1.2 billion over 10 years to modernise British Steel sites and boost energy efficiency.

British Steel was formed in 2016 after being sold by India business giant Tata to the private equity firm Greybull Capital.

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said in a statement: “Some 3,200 high-skilled jobs in Scunthorpe, Skinningrove and on Teesside have been safeguarded by the completion of a deal to sell British Steel to leading Chinese steelmaker Jingye Group…”

Business secretary Alok Sharma visited British Steel’s Scunthorpe site on Monday and met the chief executive officer (CEO) of Jingye Group, Li Huiming, CEO of British Steel, Ron Deelen, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, and others.

Commenting on the deal, Sharma said: “I would like to pay tribute to everyone who has been involved in getting this deal over the line, in particular to British Steel’s workforce for whom I recognise the uncertainty will have been challenging.

“I also want to reassure British Steel employees who may be facing redundancy that we are mobilising all available resources to give immediate on the ground support and advice to those affected.”

The company entered into an insolvency process last year and following thorough negotiations, the official receiver and special managers from Ernst & Young (EY) have confirmed the complete sale of British Steel to Jingye Group, including the steelworks at Scunthorpe, mills at Skinningrove and on Teesside, as well as subsidiary businesses TSP Engineering and FN Steel.