Steel knots

Tightening of commissioners: on former Ilva: Flacks to answer by 12 March

The letter requesting clarification on the plan and investments has been sent. The US fund assures: I will give the requested answers by that date. Negotiations with industrial partners

by Domenico Palmiotti

6 March 2026

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The commissioners of Ilva and Acciaierie impose a squeeze and Flacks seeks to accelerate the takeover of the company from extraordinary administration. 12 March is the date set by the commissioners to clarify the operation and 'no later than' this date Michael Flacks, head of the American fund of the same name, announces that he intends to present the complete documentation to take over the company. The documentation 'will include a revised business plan, evidence of the acquirer's entity status, a capital commitment letter, and other evidence of significant assets'. In addition, Flacks Group said that it is in discussions 'with key industrial partners', which are expected to be Ukrainian steel group Metinvest and Italian steel plant technology company Danieli. There would also be a trading partner role in the deal for the Marcegaglia group, already a customer of the former Ilva, which would maintain the supply and could even increase it in the future. 'If the documentation is deemed acceptable, the group expects to sign a binding acquisition agreement by the end of March,' Flacks comments.

In the summit in Chigi the anticipation of Commissioner Fiori

Flacks' acceleration comes the day after the summit (on 5 March) at Palazzo Chigi between the government, commissioners of the two extraordinary administrations, trade unions and Invitalia. But the date of 12 March comes, as mentioned, because the commissioners indicated it in the letter sent to Flacks. The deadline of 12 was therefore set by the commissioners and Flacks responded. That there was another letter leaving for Flacks, one of the three commissioners of Acciaierie, Giovanni Fiori, had anticipated at the meeting in Chigi.

On that occasion, Fiori said: 'We are analysing very carefully the plan presented by Flacks, which on some points is still not entirely satisfactory. We will send an ultimatum letter to Flacks, asking them to clarify all these aspects and to define the industrial partner, as requested by the government. We will never bring to Palazzo Chigi an industrial plan that does not offer all the necessary guarantees'. 'This is,' added Fiori on Flacks, 'the only party to have submitted a proposal without any particular conditions of financial support from the government and with a commitment to put up an initial EUR 250 million of equity from the outset. However, we feel it is our duty to further investigate the guarantees on the funds required for the continuation of the investments, which involve very significant sums. We have also asked for reassurances,' Fiori continued, 'on the cost of the ETS, because from the ArcelorMittal management we have inherited the non-exclusion from the payment of what is in fact a tax.

The three aspects to be clarified, from the government three weeks

The negotiations held in recent weeks between Flacks and the commissioners have enabled progress to be made, say sources on the file. However, three crucial aspects remain to be clarified: the resources for investment, the sustainability of the industrial plan, and the presence of partners in the sector to support Flacks in the operation. These are also the stakes placed by the government, with Enterprise Minister Adolfo Urso giving the commissioners another three weeks to look into the matter.

Also weighing on the negotiations is the recent ruling of the Court of Milan, which will be appealed by Acciaierie's lawyers to the Milan Court of Appeal on Monday. The ruling requires Ilva and Acciaierie, respectively the owner and operator of the plants, to rewrite a series of environmental prescriptions included in the last AIA Authorisation issued in August by the Ministry of the Environment, detailing the timeframe for their implementation. According to the ruling, the two companies must do so by 24 August, otherwise the hot area of the iron and steel plant - where mineral parks, coke ovens, blast furnaces and steelworks are located - will have to be shut down.

On sentencing and criminal shield Flacks corrects aim

Upon learning of the ruling, Flacks wrote to the commissioners a week ago stating that he wanted to assess it and that 'the precautionary measures contemplated are likely to have a significant impact on the going concern and, ultimately, on the overall sustainability of the company's business, as well as on the assumptions underlying the updated business plan and on the structure, timing and risk allocation of the transaction'. On the same occasion, it also called for a criminal shield (which has actually already been introduced in 2023 for environmental works and decarbonisation), noting that 'the introduction of an adequate form of protection at the criminal level is, in our view, an essential prerequisite to be able to proceed and represents a decisive element to allow Flacks Group and its representatives to operate with the necessary level of reliability and prospective visibility for the purposes of achieving the objectives of the business plan'.

But a few hours after the summit in Chigi, Flacks corrected his shot. In fact, he set aside the request for the criminal shield and on the Milan ruling, confirming that he wanted to examine its implications, he claimed that 'although it represents an unforeseen development, it is not considered by the group as an obstacle to the process underway, which is being carefully evaluated in order to adapt the industrial plan accordingly'. Therefore, he stressed, 'the Flacks group remains fully committed' and 'this position has been communicated with full conviction to the government'. Now, however, the confrontation enters into the merits and moves on to the things that Flacks is called upon to do for the company and their verifiability. A litmus test with respect to the intentions (5 billion investment, 8,500 employees, 4 million tons of steel production) that the American investor - who beat off competition from another US fund, Bedrock - has repeatedly declared in recent weeks.

Factory accident: worker dies from polytrauma from precipitation

'Polytrauma from precipitation'. This is the verdict of the medico-legal examination carried out on 6 March on the body of Loris Costantino, 36, a worker of the contractor Gea Power. Costantino died last Monday in a work accident at the former Ilva plant in Taranto. The examination was carried out by Professor Davide Ferorelli from the University of Bari, specialising in forensic medicine, on behalf of the Taranto Public Prosecutor's Office. While Costantino was at the ex-Ilva agglomeration for an industrial cleaning operation, the floor suddenly gave way and the worker fell about ten metres. On the asphalt, he was rescued by a workmate, who said that Costantino was still breathing but no longer responding. At the hospital, the worker's condition immediately appeared very critical and in fact his death came within a short time. Meanwhile, prosecutor Marco Colascilla Narducci of the Taranto Public Prosecutor's Office validated the seizure of tower 10 of agglomerate 2 of the factory. This is the plant where the accident occurred. For this death, 10 people are under investigation for manslaughter: 6 from Acciaierie d'Italia and 4 from Gea Power.