BlueScope leads international bid for Whyalla steelworks
BlueScope has joined forces with a cohort of global steel giants to explore a Whyalla bid in strategic push to develop the city as a hub for low-emissions iron production.
BlueScope Steel is leading a heavyweight international consortium in a bid to acquire the Whyalla Steelworks in South Australia.
The ASX-listed steelmaker joined forces with Nippon Steel Corporation, JSW Steel and POSCO to jointly pursue the acquisition of the Whyalla operations, previously owned by British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance before the business collapsed into administration.
In February, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas announced a $2.4bn rescue package for the embattled plant, appointing BlueScope as a “steelmaking adviser” to administrator KordaMentha, a relationship that saw BlueScope considered an early front runner.
If the BlueScope consortium is successful, the deal would transfer the strategic industrial asset and major regional employer into the hands of experienced international allies.
Together, the four companies have a combined market capitalisation of $115bn and produce around 130m tonnes of steel annually — more than 20 times Australia’s total annual output.
BlueScope’s leadership role adds weight to the proposal and could help ease government concerns around long-term viability.
“There is no obligation under the agreement for any of the consortium members to make an offer to acquire the Whyalla Steelworks,” BlueScope said.
The involvement of Korea’s POSCO marks its second attempt to buy Whyalla. The steel giant previously sought to acquire the plant in 2016 with a plan to increase production by over 50 per cent and introduce up to 220MW of baseload power to South Australia’s grid.
The current consortium has submitted a non-binding, indicative expression of interest in the Whyalla assets. BlueScope said any decision to proceed would depend on the outcome of joint due diligence and whether internal return hurdles are met. There is no binding commitment.
BlueScope, which owns and operates the Port Kembla steelworks in NSW, said it would leverage its domestic experience and familiarity with Whyalla as it leads the group through due diligence.
The bid positions BlueScope at the centre of a strategic push to develop Whyalla as a hub for low-emissions iron production, targeting both domestic and export markets as global manufacturers seek to reduce the carbon footprint of steel.
“The consortium has identified Whyalla as a prospective location for future production of lower emissions iron in Australia for both domestic and export markets,” BlueScope said in a statement.
It anticipates Whyalla playing an “important role in the decarbonisation of the global steelmaking industry”, highlighting a broader shift toward greener steel technologies, such as direct reduced iron, hydrogen-based smelting, and electric arc furnaces.
If the bid advances, the consortium may look for more state and federal government support.
While the BlueScope group may be a frontrunner, Whyalla has attracted significant interest, with The Australian reporting that around 30 domestic and international parties are circling.
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