ArcelorMittal was approved by India's Supreme Court to acquire the bankrupt Essar steel for $5.8 billion, paving the way for ArcelorMittal to enter the Indian market.

At the same time, the Supreme Court revoked the bankruptcy application of essa steel, and also withdrawn the rights of secured and unsecured creditors to sell the company's assets. The acquisition of essa steel will make ArcelorMittal the fourth largest steel producer in India, where the government has invested trillions of rupees (tens of billions of dollars) in infrastructure.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer, and its partner Nippon Steel Corp, have proposed to pay 42 billion rupees (US $5.9 billion) in cash to creditors, and an additional 80 billion rupees (US $1.12 billion) last year. Although the proposal was approved by the bankruptcy court, the Supreme Court decided to retain the funds temporarily due to disputes over the allocation of funds between lenders.

It is reported that essa steel is a comprehensive steel plant with an annual production capacity of 10 million tons. (From LGMI)