Liberty Liège Dudelange, part of the Liberty Steel group within the GFG Alliance network of companies, has been granted temporary credit protection from its creditors.
The creditors and other stakeholders pledged to work together to identify new sources of financing to ensure the company’s operating continuity. The request was endorsed by the Liège Enterprise Court pursuant to a filing on April 27. Only the Belgium entities are included, and the Luxembourg plant is under discussion. The creditor protection will expire in late July 2021.
Liberty Liège Dudelange encompasses three production sites one each at Flémalle and Tilleur in Belgium and a third in Dudelange, Luxembourg. Together the three sites have a capacity of 300,000mt cold-rolled coil (CRC), 1.6mn mt hot-dipped galvanized (HDG), and 200,000mt tinplate.
Liberty Liège Dudelange said it canceled spot and contract orders in late April due to low steel feedstock into its company pointing to long lead times and flows from mills, although some market participants note that other internal financing aspects may have affected those flows. Capital reduction after the fall of Greensill Capital affected payables schedules and credit terms as suppliers sought to limit exposure. ArcelorMittal is at the moment continuing its supplier relationship with Liberty Steel.