ArcelorMittal obtains freezing order against Liberty

ArcelorMittal has secured freezing orders against Liberty Steel companies as it seeks payment of an outstanding €140mn arbitration award.

On 19 September, the High Court of Singapore granted ArcelorMittal a freezing injunction against Liberty that prohibits the transfer of Liberty's Singaporean assets outside the country up to €140mn. It also granted ArcelorMittal an application for enforcement of the arbitration award.

The court ordered Liberty to provide a sworn affidavit of its assets in Singapore. Liberty requested an extension of the deadline until 20 October, but has not made any disclosures since.

"ArcelorMittal reasonably contemplates filing a worldwide freezing order in the English courts to prohibit the transfer of any of Liberty's assets anywhere in the world up to €140mn," it said in a filing to the US District Court of Georgia on 25 October. That filing was part of a subpoena request targeting US metals marketplace Reibus for documents and deposition witness concerning the assets of Liberty Steel East Europe and Liberty House Group.

On 24 February, the English High Court recognised the original arbitration award and enforced it, meaning ArcelorMittal is entitled to "attach and execute ... assets located in the United Kingdom in satisfaction of the award". If the UK assets are of insufficient value, it can target assets elsewhere, the filing said. Liberty has not responded to demands for payment, ArcelorMittal said in the filing.

ArcelorMittal won its original arbitration award, which ruled that Liberty breached obligations in its deal to acquire major assets from ArcelorMittal in 2019. As part of its acquisition of the integrated and rolling assets — Ostrava in the Czech Republic, Galati in Romania, Skopje in Macedonia, Piombino in Italy and Dudelange-Liege in Luxembourg and Belgium — Liberty agreed to pay £140mn in deferred compensation and to provide audited, consolidated financial statements to ArcelorMittal showing its consolidated assets amounted to at least £150mn until its obligations were satisfied, but never did, the filing said.

"This is an ongoing dispute relating to a contested deferred consideration from 2019 which GFG [Gupta Family Group] is challenging through legal means. This has no impact on any of our operations, suppliers, or customers," a spokesperson for GFG — a loosely knit collection of entities that includes Liberty — said.

By Colin Richardson