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Turkey company ready to buy British Steel  

January 27, 2020 at 2:11 pm

British Steel logo [Twitter]

Turkish company Cengiz Holding said yesterday it is ready to bid for British Steel if a sale to China’s Jingye Group fell through, the Financial Times reported.

Last year, after British Steel’s talks with the UK government failed to reach an agreement on emergency funding, the company started negotiations with Chinese company Jingye on selling the steel giant.

“We are watching developments closely and are ready to make a bid for the whole of British Steel,” said Omer Mafa, chief executive of Cengiz, in a statement.

Highlighting the importance of British Steel for Turkey’s defense industry, Mafa said: “The UK is one of our target countries that we want to invest in and are looking at a range of opportunities such as major infrastructure projects and industrial assets. British Steel is an important asset.”

Cengiz is the second Turkish company to show interest in British Steel, after talks between the company and Turkey’s Armed Forces pension fund Oyak fell through.

The Turkish company built the new Istanbul Airport, Kuwait Airport and Hawler Airport in Erbil. Its interests also include mining, construction, power generation, tourism and railways.

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