European steelmaker ArcelorMittal has not bought Polish power producer Tauron Polska Energia's stake in the two firms' joint venture, Tameh Holding, despite claims by the latter, ArcelorMittal told Argus.

 

Tauron Polska Energia said on 2 January that ArcelorMittal had offered to buy its shareholding in Tameh Holding, including energy supplier Tameh Czech, for over €137mn ($150mn). ArcelorMittal and Tauron currently own 50pc of Tameh each.

 

ArcelorMittal disputes Tauron's statement and "has not purchased any of Tauron's shareholding in Tameh Holding", an ArcelorMittal spokesperson said.

 

Tameh Czech filed for insolvency in December after months of non-payment from its sole customer, Czech steel producer Liberty Ostrava. Liberty, part of the Gupta Family Group Alliance, had secured creditor protection against Tameh Czech in November.

 

ArcelorMittal is currently embroiled in separate legal issues with Liberty, as it seeks payment of a €140mn arbitration award related to Liberty's acquisition of some of its assets in 2019, including the Ostrava works in Czech Republic and Galati in Romania. It recently hired business intelligence consultancy Alaco to assist with its case, according to court filings submitted to the High Court of Singapore. ArcelorMittal successfully sought a freezing order to prevent Liberty from transferring Singaporean assets of up to €140mn outside of the company.

 

Sources suggest this legal battle could have played a part in any potential bid to acquire Tameh Holding. Liberty wants to restructure its contract with Tameh Czech to "standard business terms", procuring power at market prices rather than the fixed fee that was previously in place, it said in December. Liberty knew about the structure of the deal when it bought Ostrava and opted against buying Tameh Czech.

 

A spokesperson for GFG Alliance declined to comment. argusmedia