Sanjeev Gupta is lining up financing from BlackRock for a contentious scheme to buy a crucial remaining part of his Liberty Steel business in the UK out of insolvency, a move set to put the metals magnate on a collision course with creditors including UBS.
Gupta, whose GFG Alliance conglomerate has been beset by legal claims and criminal probes since the 2021 collapse of his main lender Greensill Capital, has turned to the US asset management firm’s funds to finance a plan to appoint administrators over his Speciality Steel business and then buy it out of insolvency, according to people familiar with the plan.
The fate of the Yorkshire-based steel business has been in limbo since an earlier attempt to restructure its debt through London’s High Court fell apart in May amid opposition from creditors, several of which have separately filed winding-up petitions to close down the company.
BlackRock has previously provided financing to several GFG companies, both before and after the metals group became embroiled in the Greensill scandal, most recently providing a loan to Gupta’s Australian steel recycling business, InfraBuild, in 2023.
Gupta was hoping he could pave the way for the potential pre-packaged insolvency by settling a winding up petition from trade creditors led by Harsco, which were trying to close down the company over millions in unpaid bills. The metals magnate has lined up Begbies Traynor to oversee a potential pre-packaged insolvency, as first reported by Sky News.
