Corus gets bid for Teesside plant: Report

LONDON: A group of two entrepreneurs and private equity firm Rutland Partners have submitted a bid to purchase the Corus-owned Teesside Cast Products steel making plant that was mothballed recently, says a media report.

Indian conglomerate Tatas-owned Corus had recently mothballed the Teesside plant, which attracted criticism from steel unions.

The Financial Times has reported that the bid has been submitted by Teesside entrepreneurs -- Chris Musgrave and Paul Weavers -- working with a syndicate of investors headed by Rutland Partners, a London-based private equity firm that specialises in turning round under performing businesses.

Noting that the bid has been tabled with Corus, the daily said the offer is the "first confirmed approach for the vast 3,000-acre site, which has the capacity to make 3m tonnes of steel slab annually, since Corus announced last year it was to end production".

In a statement released through Ray Mallon, Middlesbrough's elected mayor, the bidding group said its intention was to restart "world class steelmaking on Teesside and to invest further to assist in the regeneration of the area".