Indian steelmaker JSW Steel has announced its intention to buy the Italian steelmaker Aferpi, previously Lucchini SpA, which, prior to 2014, was owned by the Russian steel producer Severstal.
The Algerian company Cevital Group bought Piombino-based Lucchini SpA from Severstal in 2014 and swiftly changed its name to Aferpi (Acciaierie e Ferriere di Piombino).
Aferpi has an annual production capacity of 2.5Mt/yr and a workforce of 2,000 employees.
JSW was recently outbid by Tata Steel for Bhushan Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel and lost out last year to ArcelorMittal over the acquisition of Ilva.
Currently, Aferpi produces long products for European railways and bars for specialised automotive industry parts and wire rod mills.
An online report by The Hindu Business Line stated that ‘gaining a foothold in Europe…will enable [JSW] to gain technical knowhow in electric vehicle production and localise manufacture of components much faster…’.