Astana, Dec 8 (EFE).- Kazakhstan has concluded the process of nationalizing the assets of ArcelorMittal Tamirtau (AMT) with an agreement that includes the payment of $286 million, the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Construction announced Friday.
The transaction includes all shares of the metallurgical companies ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC and ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Aktau JSC, which are to be owned by the state-owned direct investment fund Qazaqstan Investment Corporation (QIC).
“During negotiations, ArcelorMittal initially asked for $3.5 billion, which did not correspond to the estimates from international consultants. That was one of the main reasons for the protracted negotiation process,” Kazakhstan’s Minister of Industries and Construction, Kanat Sharlapaev, told reporters.
Following the October 28 accident at the AMT-owned Kostenko mine that killed 45 people, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered the government to immediately suspend cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau.
Kazakh authorities had earlier accused the company owned by steel giant ArcelorMittal of reneging on its commitments to modernize infrastructure following several accidents at its facilities that claimed the lives of dozens of workers.
“The agreement between the Government of Kazakhstan to ArcelorMittal can be called a mega-deal, as it is of extraordinary importance for our country,” Sharlapaev said Friday, stressing that with it “numerous risks have been avoided.”
The minister also stressed that the agreement includes ArcelorMittal’s waiver of any further claims. EFE