Tata appoints Citibank to advice on TCP mills sale

NEW DELHI/LONDON: Tata group firm Corus on Wednesday said it has appointed Citibank to advice it on the sale of its Teesside Cast Product (TCP) mills in Redcar, UK, which were temporarily shut down early this year.

"Yes. We have appointed Citibank," Corus spokesperson Bob Jones told PTI over phone.

Asked about number of buyers, if any, and the timespan to finalise the deal, he said: "We have a process which is managed by Citibank."

A leading British trade union had approached Prime Minister Gordon Brown to intervene and save 1,600 jobs at the mills and said that it would also speak to Tata Steel Chairman Ratan Tata directly seeking answers whether the company is serious about selling the TCP mills.

About the Community Union's complaint that Corus isn't being straight with the TCP workforce and the people of Teesside about whether they have received a bid, he said: "We are not commenting on this."

Media reports suggested that a Thai steel company, SSI, the plant's principal customer till recently was interested in buying TCP.