Liberty Częstochowa, a subsidiary of UK-based steelmaker Liberty Steel, has been officially declared bankrupt following the Częstochowa court’s rejection of the company’s latest appeal, according to local media reports. The decision is final and cannot be appealed, raising questions about the future of the Polish steel market.
The bankruptcy has resulted from company’s financial troubles, which led to a halt in production at the end of last year. A couple of weeks ago, Liberty Steel submitted a highly competitive offer to lease the Częstochowa steelworks and filed a second appeal against the court’s decision regarding the bankruptcy proceedings for Liberty Częstochowa, as SteelOrbis previously reported. The initial bankruptcy ruling was issued at the end of July.
In addition to discussions with lenders, the trustee is negotiating with companies that may lease or eventually purchase the steelworks assets. Ukraine-based Metinvest, which has lost almost half of its steel production capacity due to the war, is among the serious candidates.