‘New chapter in steelmaking’: Jingye Group acquires British Steel

Chinese firm Jingye Group has big plans for British Steel. It has pledged to invest £1.2 billionn (EUR 14 billion) in taking over the company – a move which would save over 3000 jobs.

Jingye Group announced yesterday it is willing to pay £50 million to buy the British Steel, intending to complete the deal on 9 March. The arrangement covers only British Steel in the UK and the Netherlands. Any sale of operations in France will be conducted separately following opposition from the French Government.

Although 3200 jobs are protected, around 400 staff members will be let go. British Steel collapsed in May last year, with control passing to the UK government’s insolvency service.

The deal marks a ‘new chapter in British steelmaking’, so says Jingye Group chief executive Li Huiming. ‘I want to thank everyone who has been involved in making this deal happen, including British Steel employees, the Unions, and the British government. We will not misplace the trust that they have placed in us.’ He underlines that Jingye Group is still interested in purchasing the Hayange plant in France.