Zawiercie and Ostrowiec steel mills assessed by potential Spanish investor

Spanish steel goods producer Celsa is interested in buying Impexmetal's shares in the Zawiercie steel mill and possibly also the Ostrowiec mill. "When we were shareholders of Huta Ostrowiec, we met representatives of Celsa. They emphasized at that time that it would be rational if one investor were to enter both mills," said Marek Cywinski, director of strategy at Stalexport. Marek Nowak, of the Local Development Agency (ARL), which took over the Ostrowiec mill from Stalexport, gave an assurance that although the plans are to merge Ostrowiec with Polish Steel Mills (PHS) they are open to investors. Impexmetal plans to obtain from zl. 130 to 170 million for the sale of its Zawiercie shares over one to one-and-a-half years. Ostrowiec steel mill could be bought for a penny although any investor would have to account for the company's high debts, including zl. 130 million to banks, zl. 170 million tied up in settlement proceedings and zl. 50 million to "extra-budgetary" institutions. It is not known how much Celsa could offer for the mills. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) P.W.