Indian steel giant JSW, POSCO and BlueScope likely frontrunners as Whyalla steelworks hits the market

An Indian billionaire dubbed ‘The Man of Steel’ is among the likely buyers as the Whyalla steelworks officially hits the market.

Apprentice Nathan Myers from Avid Engineering and Premier Peter Malinauskas at the announcement of Whyalla Steelworks sale process opening. Picture: Brett Hartwig.

• Wooing India’s man of steel for Whyalla

An Indian billionaire dubbed The Man of Steel is likely to be among Australian and overseas steel giants vying for the Whyalla steelworks and mine as it officially hits the sales market today.

Premier Peter Malinauskas announced the Whyalla steelworks, mine and port were officially for sale saying major steel companies from Australia, Japan, India and Korea had already emerged among “at least 30 interested parties”.

JSW from India, Australian steel company BlueScope and South Korean steel giant POSCO were expected to be among the strongest bidders.

“So far there’s been at least 30 interested parties in buying the steelworks, over 60 per cent come from overseas, who are serious investors,” Mr Malinauskas said at the steelworks.

Mr Malinauskas met JSW Steel chairman Sajjan Jindal, dubbed The Man of Steel by Fortune India, at his Mumbai mansion in March in an attempt to woo interest.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and Philip Green at Sajjan Jindal’s residence in Mumbai.

While BlueScope, with 7000 employees around Australia and work centred around Port Kembla steelworks in New South Wales, was already employed as an advisor to the Whyalla steelworks and mine administrator KordaMentha.

South Korean giant POSCO was a leading bidder on the steelworks and mine in 2017 before Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance and its OneSteel Manufacturing won ownership.

It was OneSteel Manufacturing that owed millions of dollars in unpaid bills to the state government and was dramatically pushed into administration earlier this year.

Mr Malinauskas and federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres today confirmed it could take around a year to find the “right buyer” and that several conglomerates were likely to emerge in the bidding.

The Premier and federal Industry Minister gathered at the steelworks, which administrator Mark Mentha said had received upgrades. Picture: Brett Hartwig.

Administrator Mark Mentha said the ageing steelworks was in far better shape for buyers after more than $100m had been spent on major equipment upgrades since February.

This included relining kilns, fixing the blast furnace, installing traffic lights on site and replacing conveyor belts.

Mr Mentha said it was the administrator’s job to carefully select the best sale option and he was “hopeful that in the next couple of months to garner and complete the first phase of interest”.

As money continued to flow from a $2.4bn state and federal rescue package for Whyalla announced in February, local operators were feeling an uplift in fortunes.

Apprentice Nathan Myers and Tony Angel from Avid Engineering said they had grown their business with the help of the government. Picture: Brett Hartwig.

Avid Engineering owner Tony Angel was on the verge of closing his 35-year business when the government stepped in - and now, four months later, he was employing “the highest number of workers we’ve ever had”.

“We’ve gone from around seven staff to 29 … we are buried in work now,” Mr Angel, who completed his own apprenticeship at the Whyalla steelworks, said.

Nathan Myers, 32, wrote to Mr Malinauskas after being made redundant from a local business supplying the Whyalla steelworks late last year, calling for help as he began searching for work outside the city.

Now Mr Myers, who was born in Whyalla, has won a four-year boilermaker apprenticeship with Avid Engineering and said the government’s boost to the steel city was “massive”.

“There’s a lot of happy faces, there’s a lot of smiles, something is happening now,” he said.

“Please, someone buy our steelworks and mine now …. And I think Australian steel should stay in Australian (hands).”

Mr Malinauskas and Mr Ayres also officially opened the $30m upgrade to Whyalla Airport on Tuesday morning that allowed larger 74-seat Q400 aircraft to operate on the local route.

Fulton Hogan completed the project using 90 per cent local construction materials and employing 234 people, 110 were Whyalla locals.

Originally published as Indian steel giant JSW, POSCO and BlueScope likely frontrunners as Whyalla steelworks hits the market