The Libertu Galati steelworks, Romania’s largest steel producer, is at the center of a fierce takeover bid. The candidates include two of the most influential businessmen in Eastern Europe – Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov and Romanian entrepreneur Dorinel Umbrapecci, Ziarul Financiar reports.
Akhmetov, the richest man in Ukraine and owner of the System Sarital Management group and the metals giant Metinvest, already has a presence in Romania through the energy company DTEK Renewables International. The company operates several solar and wind parks with a total capacity of over 170 MW and plans to reach 1 GW by 2028, according to EuroLiberă Romania.
63-year-old Dorinel Umbrapecci, known as the “king of asphalt”, is the owner of the construction companies Sredition UMV, SHA&PE Construct and Technostrade, which build key infrastructure facilities in the country. The group’s total turnover exceeds €2.8 billion, according to data from the Romanian Ministry of Finance, cited by ZF.ro.
Libertà Galați, formerly known as Sidex, is owned by Indian-British investor Sanjiv Gupta through the Libertà Steel group. The plant has been under a preventive arrangement since March this year with debts of around €1 billion, half of which to the state. The manufacturer ended 2024 with a turnover of around €420 million and a loss of around €320 million, with around 4,900 employees. The government in Bucharest has created a special committee for the protection of state interests and the restructuring of the enterprise. According to Ziarul Financiar, 4 companies have submitted offers for Libert Galati. Two of them – Metinvest and UMV Growth, only for the full acquisition of assets, and the others (German Steel Mont and Turkish Kauseri Metal Center) propose a business model, where raw materials and financing come from outside.
The listed company has announced its readiness to invest about €275 million
Photo: Rinat Akhmetov Foundation
We acknowledge The European Times for the information.
