Russia's largest steel company Severstal plans to sell its European activities, including in Italy, if it is offered an adequate price, a top executive told an Italian newspaper on Sunday.
In an interview in business daily Il Sole 24 Ore, Severstal’s second-raking executive Sergei Kuznetsov said the recent buy-out of minority shareholders in Italian unit Lucchini gives it a freer hand in the sale process.
"I can confirm that there is a process underway and it does not just involve Italy but also France. It involves the sale of all the European activities," said Kuznetsov, who is responsible for American and European activities.
"But it depends on the offers. If they are strong we will sell, otherwise no," he said.
Severstal has received strong interest from various financial and industrial investors, he said without giving names. Kuznetsov said the company wants to sell 100 percent.
The newspaper said Deutsche Bank has been hired to sell Lucchini.
Kuznetsov said Severstal intends to focus on Asia and North America, where it can make bigger returns and where there are more growth opportunities than in Europe, he said.
Earlier this month, Severstal bought 20.2 percent of Lucchini from family shareholders who had kept a stake after the sale of a majority in 2005.
"The Lucchini activity is going very well. We are at 85 percent capacity (use), which is the maximum in Italy," he said.
Lucchini’s main plant is in Piombino, which has an annual production of 2.5 million tonnes of steel.
Prospects for the steel industry in 2010 have improved sharply from the "difficult" 2009, he said.
"Prices are going up and this year demand will start growing again. It is estimated steel consumption in Europe will increase by 20 percent," he said.
In early March in a results conference call, Severstal owner Alexei Mordashov did not say whether the group planned to sell or close any operations.
