Multinational steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MT.LU), the former owner of Italian steel firm Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI), said on Thursday it had filed a 1.8 billion euro ($2.2 billion) claim against the Italian government over losses linked to its investment in ADI's plants.
The filing is a tit-for-tat move following Italy's state‑appointed administrators of ADI, formerly known as ILVA, seeking around 7 billion euros ($8.37 billion) in damages from ArcelorMittal, alleging that it had mismanaged ADI's steelworks.
The government took over the administration of ADI from ArcelorMittal in early 2024. ADI has struggled to maintain production amid high energy costs and weak demand.
In the government's case, Luxembourg-headquartered ArcelorMittal said in a statement on Thursday that ADI's government-appointed commissioners had served it with a summons to appear before a Milan court.
It said it saw "no factual nor legal basis" in the summons and rejected all allegations, including assertions that it has pursued a strategy of running down the plants, destroying ADI's business and extracting profits from Italy.
ArcelorMittal said it had invested about 2 billion euros "to turn around a structurally challenged business," much of which was devoted to meeting environmental standards set by the government.
It accused the government of "omissions and illegitimate legislative interventions" which undermined the conditions on which it bought the plants and led to the loss of its investments.
Sources close to the matter said in December that Italy had picked U.S. investment fund Flacks for exclusive talks on the sale of ADI.
The government had previously tried to sell ADI's steelworks to an Azeri consortium comprising Baku Steel and Azerbaijan Business Development Fund, but failed to reach an agreement.
ILVA's Taranto steel plant was once Europe's largest, but has been hobbled since 2012 by judicial investigations and asset seizures related to the environmental impact of its activities.
ADI's future has become a major political issue for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as a shutdown would have significant knock‑on effects across Italy's manufacturing sector.
($1 = 0.8357 euros)
