[Ferro-Alloys.com]

 

Czech steelmaker Liberty Ostrava is trying to remove its energy supplier Tameh Czech from the decision-making process under its creditor protection moratorium.

 

Liberty believes the company is conflicted and should not be able to vote, according to sources.

 

"Liberty is now arguing that its Tameh liabilities do not exist and therefore will not be addressed in Liberty's restructuring plan," a Tameh spokesperson told Argus. "The whole activity is conducted with the intention of blackmailing the shareholders and creditors for Tameh, gaining time and forcing Tameh shareholders to sell their Liberty plant cheaply," he added.

 

Liberty has already offered to buy Tameh, which went into administration after months of non-payment from Liberty, its only customer.

 

The energy contract between the two, which Liberty has disputed, is on a cost plus basis. The agreement runs until 2029, but Tameh claims Liberty stopped making payments from June last year, and owes it more than 2bn koruna (€78.8mn). In December last year Liberty said it wanted to "renegotiate onerous contracts", including with Tameh.

 

Tameh filed for insolvency at the end of last year. It is jointly owned by ArcelorMittal and Tauron Group, both of which are trying to sell their stakes to the other party. In its recent annual report ArcelorMittal said it served a declaration of a put option to Tauron on 2 January 2024. On the same day, Tauron claimed it had reached an agreement to sell its shares to ArcelorMittal. Both deny having accepted to buy the other's shares, and negotiations continue.

 

The district court in Ostrava recently ruled that Ostrava's creditor moratorium would run until the end of this month, after Tameh petitioned for an earlier end to the protection. Tameh said Liberty is "abusing the protective moratorium" and resisting insolvency proceedings.

 

Ostrava has not produced hot metal for months, but said it is rolling some imported semi-finished products. argusmedia