According to reports in local media, Hungarian integrated flat steel producer Dunaferr has gone into administration, after Budapest’s municipal court ordered the liquidation of Dunaferr and appointed a temporary administrator who has replaced the previously self-appointed company managers Dunaujvaros, where the mill is located, Mayor Mr Tamas Pinter, appealing to the national government to take it over, said “For many years we listened to the state saying that it would buy the steelworks, but the owner was not willing to sell it. The steelworks should now be taken over by the state. In 2020, Hungary’s bankruptcy law was amended so that in case of strategically important companies, the state has the right of preemption even then we thought and trusted that this amendment was made because of Dunaferr.” Mr Pinter added that intervention by private investors was unlikely, as in the last two-three years there have been several parties interested in Dunaferr but without any resulting deal. He also said “There are two important things, one is that the plant continues to operate in such a way that the entire production spectrum remains, Steelmaking has been around for a long time. I do believe that it is needed and should not be abandoned during the liquidation. Another important thing is that all workers continue to receive their full wages.” Dunaferr still legally belongs to Russian bank Mezhekonombank, which holds 51%, with the remaining 49% shared between two Ukrainian businessmen. Dunaferr has been idled since the third quarter: the mill suspended its two blast furnaces, with combined capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year, in August and September due to disruptions to its coke supplies.
According to reports in local media, Hungarian integrated flat steel producer Dunaferr has gone into administration, after Budapest’s municipal court ordered the liquidation of Dunaferr and appointed a temporary administrator who has replaced the previously self-appointed company managers Dunaujvaros, where the mill is located, Mayor Mr Tamas Pinter, appealing to the national government to take it over, said “For many years we listened to the state saying that it would buy the steelworks, but the owner was not willing to sell it. The steelworks should now be taken over by the state. In 2020, Hungary’s bankruptcy law was amended so that in case of strategically important companies, the state has the right of preemption even then we thought and trusted that this amendment was made because of Dunaferr.” Mr Pinter added that intervention by private investors was unlikely, as in the last two-three years there have been several parties interested in Dunaferr but without any resulting deal. He also said “There are two important things, one is that the plant continues to operate in such a way that the entire production spectrum remains, Steelmaking has been around for a long time. I do believe that it is needed and should not be abandoned during the liquidation. Another important thing is that all workers continue to receive their full wages.” Dunaferr still legally belongs to Russian bank Mezhekonombank, which holds 51%, with the remaining 49% shared between two Ukrainian businessmen. Dunaferr has been idled since the third quarter: the mill suspended its two blast furnaces, with combined capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year, in August and September due to disruptions to its coke supplies.
