KPMG give Thai company SSI good advice
Sep 8 2010 by Karen McLauchlan, Evening Gazette
LONG-STANDING expertise in the steel sector among KPMG’s North-east corporate finance team saw it help land one of the largest deals in the region this year and hopefully help to bring many new jobs to Teesside.
Following almost a year of talks, Thai company Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Corus to buy the site for £320m.
SSI were advised by the Newcastle- based corporate finance team of accountants and business advisers KPMG. The same team had also advised the previous unsuccessful suitors of TCP, Italian firm Marcegaglia and Dongkuk of South Korea.
Chris Stott, who led the KPMG team advising SSI, said: “This deal, if it is successfully concluded, will be great news for the North-east.
“The fact that it has been well thought out, with SSI having approached the acquisition methodically and professionally, signifies commitment to the Teesside Cast Products operation which, with its unique deep water port and integrated steelworks, secures for it a high quality supply chain.”
Over the years KPMG in the North-east has built up a specialist team with in-depth knowledge of the steel industry, having previously worked with British Steel and Corus.
SSI has said it is now finalising the details and arranging financing for the proposed acquisition.
The company is the largest steel firm in Thailand and the deal will see it secure the Redcar and South Bank coke ovens, TCP’s power generation facilities and sinter plant, the Redcar blastfurnace and the Lackenby steel making facilities. It will also see Corus and SSI jointly run TCP’s bulk terminal at Redcar Wharf.
