Business tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, who is interested in acquiring Tata's steel business in the U.K., met the British government representatives Tuesday. The U.K. government is hunting for a potential buyer for the loss-making steel business.
Tata had announced last week it was putting its entire U.K. operations up for sale. Sajid Javid, Britain's Business Minister, met Gupta in London Tuesday to determine how serious he was about buying the steel business. Javid is also due to meet Tata Chairman Cyrus Mistry in Mumbai Wednesday, to discuss the process of sale, Reuters reports.
Gupta termed the meet as "positive." He also said that the U.K. government was "highly supportive" and "actively engaged" in terms of finding a possible solution.
"The next step is for Tata to define the formal sales process and request indications of interest from potential buyers, "he said in a statement after the meeting, Reuters added.
Last week, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly met ministers to discuss possible options for the Tata business.
Carwyn Jones, Wales' First Minister, told Reuters that the government is "willing" to discuss solutions for the company's pension deficit, structural challenges and high energy costs — that drove Tata to walk away.
The U.K. Business Minister also met other potential buyers but the details have not been revealed. "The important thing is where the buyers are coming forward we are ready to work with them," Javid was quoted as saying by BBC.
Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty House Group is a U.K.-based steel and non-ferrous metals group, which operates in London, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. It has its assets in Asia, Africa and Britain. The firm's annual turnover is about $5 billion. Its total production capacity in steel exceeds three million MTPA, according to the company's website.
