Exclusive: It may be JSW Steel vs ArcelorMittal for Asian Colour Coated Ispat

Sajjan Jindal's JSW Steel may square up with LN Mittal's ArcelorMittal in the race for Asian Colour Coated Ispat, which was referred to the insolvency courts.

Sources told Moneycontrol that both companies will be submitting bids on March 8, the last day. Apart from the two, a host of funds too may also participate.

The contenders had submitted Express of Interest (EoI) in November last year. Asia Colour Coated has a debt of over Rs 4,000 crore. "The bids are expected to be in the region of Rs 1,200 crore," said a senior industry executive.

Spokesperson of both the companies declined to comment.

This will be the third time that the two steelmakers will be facing each other. Both were in contention for the Italian steelmaker Ilva, and in India, Jindal had backed the Ruias in their bid to wrest back Essar Steel.

ArcelorMittal was selected as the preferred bidder by Essar Steel's bankers, late last year. The Ahmedabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is scheduled to give its order on ArcelorMittal's bid later on March 8.

Read: NCLT to pass order on Essar Steel insolvency case later today; ArcelorMittal favourite, all eyes on Ruias

Asian Colour Coating Ispat has manufacturing facilities close to Delhi and Mumbai, and specialises in downstream, galvanised and colour coated products that it exports to Europe, Latin America and Africa. It has an annual capacity of one million tonne.

The downstream facility will benefit both JSW Steel and ArcelorMittal.

The Jindal company has been eyeing downstream assets as it looks to increase the proportion of high-value products in its portfolio.

"Today what is left (in the insolvency courts) are companies that either of smaller size or downstream. So, we are particularly evaluating downstream side more intensely than the integrated side," JSW Steel Joint Managing Director and Group CFO Seshagiri Rao said in an earlier interview.

ArcelorMittal, which is favourite to bag Essar Steel, has been looking at facilities in other parts of the country that will complement its operations.

Talking about its India aspirations, the company had stated in its recently released 2018 Annual Report: "There is also a long-term aspiration to increase finished steel shipments to between 12 MT and 15 MT through the addition of new iron and steel making assets, so that ESIL (Essar Steel) can play an active role and fully benefit from the anticipated growth in the Indian steel industry."