Gupta lines up to deal with creditors.

Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel has reached an outline deal with creditors where they could recoup less than half of the amount they lent to the beleaguered metals group. Industrialist Gupta has spent much of the past 18 months trying to fend off legal action that would dismantle his collection of global metals businesses to repay debts linked to the collapse of specialist finance firm Greensill Capital in March last year. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office and French police investigate Gupta’s GFG Alliance companies over suspected fraud and money laundering. UK winding-up proceedings brought by Liberty Steel creditors were set to start on November 30, having been pushed back after the two sides made progress in working out a settlement.

To succeed, they must show that the company cannot pay what it owes, in which case its assets can be sold to repay them. «After several months of negotiations, we have now reached an agreement in principle that will provide recovery for the creditors and will significantly deleverage and de-risk Liberty,» said Jeffrey Kabel, chief transformation officer of the metals group. The company yesterday declined to provide details of the agreement, citing confidentiality. GFG could look to raise money by selling parts of its global business, including its Australian InfraBuild group, and assets owned by Gupta but not part of GFG, according to people with knowledge of the talks.

Gupta’s European steel assets have been hit hard by soaring energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine. Gupta was due yesterday to learn whether he had lost control of two Belgian steel plants at Flémalle and Tiller.

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