Tata Steel to invest £1.74 bn to fund rejig of UK operations

Tata Steel will infuse $2.1 billion (£1.74 bn) in its Singapore arm, to repay debt of its offshore entities and to “support the restructuring costs” of its loss-making UK operations. Further, it will convert debt instruments worth $565 million (£466.1 mn) it holds in the Singapore arm into equity shares. The fund infusion as well as the conversion of debt into equity will be done in this fiscal, said Tata Steel.
The Indian company owns 100% of the Singapore arm called T Steel Holdings, which in turn owns the overseas steel assets including the UK plant. T Steel Holdings posted a loss of £436.7 mn in FY23. Tata Steel will also be raising £300 mn in the form of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The company has been raising money through NCDs now and then.
Tata Steel is investing £1.25 billion to build a new electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Port Talbot plant in the UK, while deciding to shut down two blast furnaces at the facility by September. The move will lead to axing of 2,800 jobs at the plant. The British trade Union community has voted for strike action against these job-cut plans, according to reports.
“We will proceed with our proposal to shut down heavy end assets this year, and set up the EAF by 2027. This is a difficult period of change for our people… With respect to the EAF, we will place equipment orders by Sep 2024 and have signed the agreement with the UK National Grid securing the high voltage connection, which will be available on schedule. We have as part of discussions with the unions, offered the best ever package of support for affected employees in Tata Steel UK. We have also agreed the final and detailed terms of the proposed grant package with the UK government to support the £1.25 billion investment,” said Tata Steel’s management.