South Korea’s KG Dongbu Steel has extended an option for the UK’s Liberty Steel Group to buy the former’s Dongbu steel plant and related equipment for $68 million, KG Dongbu said Sept. 4.

          Both companies had signed an agreement in November 2022 for the steel plant as well as equipment and a down payment of $33 million was placed on Nov. 25, 2022, while the remaining $35 million would be paid by Jan. 2, 2024, if an option to spread the outstanding amount until Sept. 28, 2025, was not exercised.

          The initial deadline for the option was due to expire on Aug. 28, 2023, but has been delayed to Dec. 11, 2023.

          If the option is exercised, the final payment will increase to $47 million, spread over $32 million on Dec. 28, 2023, and two equal payments of $7.5 million on Sept. 28, 2024 and Sept. 28, 2025.

          The steel plant has a liquid steel capacity of 3 million mt/ year and a finished steel products output of 2.85 million mt/year, powered by two 160-mt electric arc furnaces.

          Liberty Steel had said that pending final technical assessment and further diligence, it plans to install the equipment at its Galati plant in Romania as part of a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030.

          Platts assessed domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe at Eur670/mt ($724) ex-works Ruhr on Sept. 1, flat from the previous session, data from S&P Global Commodity Insights showed.