EY facilitates British Steel sale

Jingye, a Chinese steel and iron producer founded by a former member of the Chinese Communist party, is expected to announce today that it plans to buy British Steel

EY is assisting the Official Receiver on British Steel, which went into liquidation in May.

Ataer Holdings, the investment division for Turkey’s military pension fund, was a frontrunner to buy British Steel after liquidation, until talks ended last month.

While discussions were still ongoing, the official receiver announced that special managers would “engage with additional interested parties” after Ataer’s exclusivity period was up.

EY’s special managers are Alan Hudson, head of UK&I restructuring, Sam Woodward and Hunter Kelly, both partners in the north division of EY.

Although the government has refused to bail out British Steel, the BBC reports that a deal with Jingye is expected to also include some UK state support. Reportedly, this is expected to cover environmental risk.

British Steel produces a third of all steel in the UK, an annual 2.5 million tonnes.

Jingye has plans to increase production to 3 million tonnes a year, according to a presentation seen by the Financial Times.

EY has been contacted for comment.