Corus' $480 mn deal to sell mill may fall through: report

Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus' $480-million deal with a consortium of buyers to sell its Teesside steel mill "is in danger of being scrapped", leading British daily Financial Times said.

"Nearly 2,000 jobs at one of Britain's biggest industrial sites on Teeside were in jeopardy... After it emerged that a proposed sale to an Italian company was in danger of being scrapped.

"The news will be a blow to Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steel company owned by Tata, which three months ago concluded an outline agreement to sell the Redcar, Teeside, steel plant for $480 million to a consortium headed by Mantova-based (Italy) Marcegaglia," the daily said.

The European arm of the Indian steel major Tata Steel was looking to ease the financial pressure on the parent by the proposed sales proceeds, the report added.

When contacted Corus said that due diligence has been going on since January and it has not heard anything from Marcegaglia or Dongkuk, a memebr of the consortium, on discontinuation.

"Due diligence has been proceeding since then against a background of difficult market conditions. Corus has had no communication from either Marcegaglia or Dongkuk to say that they wish to discontinue these negotiations," Corus said in an emailed response to PTI.