The European Commission has approved a rescue loan of up to €390 million for Acciaierie d'Italia, Italy’s biggest integrated steel producer, under EU State aid rules, the organisation said.
Acciaierie d'Italia, formerly known as ILVA, operates eight production and servicing sites, with its largest plant in Taranto in southern Italy, according to the Commission. The company employs about 10,000 people, including around 8,000 at the Taranto site, it added.
The Taranto plant covers about 15 million square metres and has production capacity capped at 6 million tonnes of crude carbon steel a year, the Commission said. It supplies sectors including automotive and components, household appliances, construction and infrastructure, packaging, mechanical engineering and energy-related industries, it added.
Acciaierie d'Italia has been in insolvency proceedings since February 2024 and is being sold through an ongoing tender process, according to the Commission. Italy expects to complete the sale soon and transfer the business to a new operator selected through that process, it said.
Until the sale is completed, the company faces liquidity needs to cover operating costs such as paying suppliers and wages, the Commission said. The approved rescue loan is intended to cover those costs for the coming months, it added.
### Six-month loan under State aid rules
The loan is limited to six months and is priced at a market rate, with Italy committing to submit a restructuring plan, a liquidation plan, or evidence the loan has been repaid after that period, according to the Commission.
The amount was assessed as proportionate because it is limited to the projected liquidity shortfall and restricted to normal operating costs, the Commission said. Neither Acciaierie d'Italia nor ILVA has received rescue or restructuring aid in the past 10 years, it added.
The Commission said it concluded the measure would not unduly affect competition with other steel producers or trade within the EU’s internal market.
