The consortium of concordat administrators of the Liberty Galați Steel Plant (formerly Sidex), Euro Insol and CITR, resumed the auction for the sale of the troubled company under pre-insolvency procedures for EUR 444 million – down from EUR 709 million in the first, failed, attempt, according to Profit.ro.
Liberty Galați, formerly Sidex, remains a cornerstone of Romania’s industrial base. The government had already designated Liberty Galați steelworks, alongside Mangalia shipyard and Romaero aircraft services provider, as assets of strategic interest at the end of March, signalling its intention to intervene.
No bid was placed in the first auction, when five prospective buyers still purchased the tender book – MetInvest (Ukraine) – owned by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, the richest Ukrainian – UMB Group (Romania) – owned by Dorinel Umbrarescu – KMC (Turkey), JSW and Jindal Group (India).
According to the document consulted by News.ro, the market value was revalued since the first auction to RON 3.23 billion (EUR 620 million), and the liquidation value to RON 1.9 billion (EUR 365 million) as a result of deducting the value of several non-core assets (such as a block of flats) already sold or assets to which the company did not have ownership rights (such as buildings erected by Linde company on the Liberty Galați land).
The main debts that Liberty Galați currently has are to Exim Banca Românească – RON 1.5 billion, as a result of accessing two loans of EUR 292 million, intended to restart the activity.
The second largest creditor is the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF), with RON 273 million, to which is added another RON 417 million, contested in court.
In total, Liberty Galați’s debts amounted to almost RON 3.4 billion (EUR 650 million) as of April 2026.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: the company)
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