EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Competition

Only the English text is available and authentic.

REGULATION (EC) No 139/2004 MERGER PROCEDURE

Article 6(1)(b) NON-OPPOSITION Date: 02/10/2023

In electronic form on the EUR-Lex website under document number 32023M11216

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 2.10.2023 C(2023) 6705 final

PUBLIC VERSION

Liberty Steel Group 40 Grosvenor Place London SW1X 7GG United Kingdom

Dear Sir or Madam,

1.On 8 September 2023, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger Regulation by which the undertaking Liberty Steel Central Europe Kft. (‘LSCE’, Hungary), ultimately controlled by M. Sanjeev Gupta, intends to acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control over substantially all of the assets of the undertakings ISD Dunaferr Dunai Vasmű Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság “f.a.” (‘ISD Dunaferr’, Hungary) and ISD Kokszoló Kft. “f.a.” (‘ISD Kokszoló, Hungary) (the ‘Sellers’), by way of purchase of shares in two special purpose vehicles, Duna Furnace Dunai Vasmű Kft. and Dunarolling Dunai Vasmű Kft., established and incorporated by the Sellers for the purpose of the sale of the assets (together the ‘Target’.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are the following:

− LSCE is is part of LIBERTY Steel Group, a global steel and mining group that supplies a wide range of steel products to a variety of sectors, including construction, oil and gas, aerospace, automotive, rail and infrastructure,

− ISD Dunaferr is an integrated steel producer in Dunaújváros, Hungary. Prior to the insolvent liquidation proceedings, ISD Dunaferr was active in the manufacture and sale of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and hot-dip galvanized products. ISD Kokszoló produces blast furnace coke to supply the two blast furnaces of ISD Dunaferr.

1OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’). With effect from 1 December 2009, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) has introduced certain changes, such as the replacement of ‘Community’ by ‘Union’ and ‘common market’ by ‘internal market’. The terminology of the TFEU will be used throughout this decision.

2OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 (the ‘EEA Agreement’).

3Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 330, 19.9.2023, p. 4.

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111

3.After examination of the notification, the European Commission has concluded that the notified operation falls within the scope of the Merger Regulation and of paragraph 5 (d) of the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings.

4.For the reasons set out in the Notice on a simplified procedure, the European Commission has decided not to oppose the notified operation and to declare it compatible with the internal market and with the EEA Agreement. This decision is adopted in application of Article 6(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation and Article 57 of the EEA Agreement.

For the Commission

(Signed) Olivier GUERSENT Director-General

OJ C 160, 5.5.2023, p. 1–10.

2