Gruelling battle for 865 days: The making of Rs 42,000-cr Essar Steel deal

Getting to this point wasn't easy. The road was riddled with challenges as much for ArcelorMittal as it was for stakeholders

Aditya Mittal, president and chief financial officer, ArcelorMittal, and chairman, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), was struck by the potential of Essar Steel’s Hazira plant on his very first visit in November 2017. 

To make the deal happen, Mittal fought a gruelling battle — in courts and outside — for 865 days. Finally, Essar Steel was bagged under India's new insolvency law, in Rs 42,000-crore deal mid-December with secured financial creditors recovering around 90 per cent.

There is no let-up in Mittal's excitement. Today, I remain as excited as I was on that day, when in the company of