Bloomberg reported that Serbia said that it will buy back US Steel’s plant for USD 1, eight years after the largest American steelmaker acquired the assets.

Serbian prime minister Mr Mirko Cvetkovic told reporters in Belgrade that US Steel will leave no debt behind and will sign the sale agreement on January 31st.

He added that “We will start looking for a new strategic partner for the plant on February 1st.

He said that the government is trying to find a suitable buyer and will keep the plant’s production level unchanged.

He also said that “The existing owners had a loss of around EUR 100 million.”

Ms Erin DiPietro spokeswoman for US Steel said in an E mailed statement that while the company is exploring all options related to its Serbian operations, the company doesn’t comment on other parties’ statements.

The Serbian unit was known as Sartid AD until it was acquired by US Steel from Serbia for about USD 23 million in a deal completed in September 2003. US Steel said at the time of the deal Sartid could produce 2.2 million tonnes of steel annually but it is reported to be producing only 1 million tonnes.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)