AM/NS India will look at acquisitions if opportunities come its way: CEO
AM/NS India — the joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japan's Nippon Steel — will be looking at opportunities for acquisitions coming its way, said Dilip Oommen, the chief executive officer.
It is one of the few steelmakers in the country that has grown by a series of deals in the past few years.
«For sure we will be looking at (it), if there are any good opportunities coming our way, we are definitely interested and we will study it,» he told ET in an exclusive interaction. «It has to be viable,» he emphasised.
The company is said to have been in talks to acquire Vedanta's Electro Steel (ESL), according to sources. The negotiations between both parties have been stuck on valuations. There have also been concerns about how much of the land at ESL's plant could be used for brownfield expansion.
Oommen refused to comment on the talks between the companies while a spokesperson from Vedanta said «We don't comment on market speculation».
Vedanta is looking to complete the capacity expansion at its steel unit to 3.5 million tonnes from 1.5 MT by the end of the year. «There are no other brownfield sites in the country that have the opportunity to grow to a 20 MTPA manufacturing plant,» the company said earlier this month.
«ESL has the land, railways, infrastructure, mines — both iron ore and coal — and a gas pipeline running beside the plant that helps us to produce high-quality green steel. If Vedanta receives the right price, we will consider selling ESL,» the company said.
«We believe we have the capability
