ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, said Tuesday it plans to present a takeover proposal shortly for an ailing Bulgarian steel plant, dpa reported.
Volker Schwich, ArcelorMittal's vice president for eastern European projects, indicated that the plan to be presented this week to Bulgarian authorities includes a pledge to invest 500 million dollars in the debt-laden Kremikovtzi plant.
Pramod Mittal, the younger brother of ArcelorMittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal, was forced to offer his conTrolling 71-per-cent stake in the plant for sale after failing to secure money for the mill's operation and environmental protection.
Kremikovtzi currently runs at one third of capacity and ArcelorMittal would seek to boost production to full capacity, Schwich said in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
The communist-era steel mill, plagued by financial problems, labour protests and sale rumours, is also targeted by Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Zhevago's Vorskla Steel.
In May, ArcelorMittal made a 30-million-euro (47-million-dollar) emergency loan to the plant, in which the Bulgarian government retains a 25.3-per-cent stake.