Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal and its Italian asset Ilva are operating as two separate entities as of today, according to information obtained by Argus.
ArcelorMittal senior management have decided to stop all commercial activities related to Ilva products, owing to the settlement of legal disputes, according to an internal communication.
Alessandro Faroni has been appointed Ilva chief marketing officer to replace Carlo Malasomma.
The Italian government and ArcelorMittal have been in negotiations over Ilva's future for years, and the prolonged nature of the talks led ArcelorMittal to threaten to exit the investment last year — it was operating the plant under a lease, allowing it to legally pull out.
A provisional agreement was signed in March this year, outlining plans for the government to take a stake in the asset, as well as the construction of an electric arc furnace and a direct reduced iron facility. ArcelorMittal highlighted then that if the government did not meet its investment obligations by 30 November 2020, the company had the right to withdraw, subject to an agreed payment.
