The leader of the union which represents a significant portion of Arrium’s workforce in Australia says he wants a buyer for the business to be interested in investing in new technology for the steelmaker.
Australian Workers Union national secretary Scott McDine said on Monday that he welcomes all bidders to the final stages of the sale process, “particularly those who are looking at investing in new technology,” according to the AFR.
Multiple sources had four bidders remaining in the final stages of talks.
South Korean steelmaker Posco was one such business named, with Canadian investor Brookfield and British firm Liberty House Group also suggested as bidders.
McDine sits on the committee off creditors who are working with Arrium’s administrator, KordaMentha, to handle the collapsed business going forward.
Arrium announced last week it will sell off its metal manufactures firm Moly-Cop to American Industrial Partners for a little more than $1.6 billion, with the proceeds of that sale to go to the company’s lenders.
This sale reportedly removed BlueScope Steel from the bidding for Arrium, with the ASX-listed steelmaker reportedly not interested in the Whyalla steelworks – the other significant asset operated by the business.
With Moly-Cop sold off, the steelmaking business bidding will now continue.
“We’ve got a handful of bidders in the process,” KordaMentha’s Mark Korda reportedly told the ABC.
“We think it’ll be a due diligence process, so we are still two to three months to go through that process. It’s a big, large complex company.”