Huta Czestochowa, a producer of thick plates in
Poland, will be leased by Sunningwell International Polska, a finance company with
links to China, according to a Sept. 10 report by czestochowa.naszemiasto.pl, a
local news site. This decision was made by a local Polish court on Sept. 9,
with Sunningwell offering PLN 1.71 mln (USD 0.43 mln) per month in lease
payments for 12 months, the report said, adding that the lease should be signed
within a week.
Earlier reports mentioned Ukraine’s
largest steel producer Metinvest (METINV) as a possible lessee.
Dmytro Khoroshun: We continue thinking
that taking an interest (acquisition of control, entering into a joint venture,
leasing) in European flat steel re-rollers will be a very logical M&A move
for Metinvest as we outlined in our May 14 report on Ukrainian fixed income. Apparently,
this is not happening now with Huta.