China's Jingye Group has completed its buyout of British Steel, helping the business and saving over 3,000 jobs. The group released a statement saying it had completed the acquisition of British Steel's UK and Dutch assets from the official receiver. It also confirmed its plans to invest £1.2bn in the company. Around 3,200 employees have already been offered contracts.
Last week, Jingye said it would buy British Steel's Scunthorpe plant. Chief Executive Li Huiming said, “It has not been an easy journey since we first announced our intentions in November.” The company statement implied hope to buy the French operations at Hayange. It added the move is “still subject to further negotiations with the relevant authorities in France and is hoped to be concluded separately.”
Jingye said its investment plans included installing an electric arc furnace, which makes products from recycled steel, building a more efficient power plant and launching a new line for steel rebar, a product mainly used in construction. British Steel was placed into compulsory liquidation last May after private equity firm Greybull Capital, which bought it for a token £1 from Tata Steel in 2016, failed to secure funding to continue its operations.
