WASHINGTON/BIZERTE/WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (CI MENA) –The Tunisian state-owned Societe Tunisiene de Siderugie ElFouladh steel group is a perfect takeover target for specialty steel groups such as Essen, Germany-based Thyssenkrupp AG (ETR: TKA) or Italian-Brazilian giant Tenaris (NYSE: TS); Tunisian Member of Parliament and the highest elected official of Bizerte Ali Belakhoua said.
[Tunisian Member of Parliament Ali Belakhoua (Bizerte) speaks to Capitol Intelligence using CI Glass on interest from Italian specialty steel groups ThyssenKrupp, Marcegaglia and Tenaris for Tunisian steel company El Fouladh in Bizerte, Tunisia. IMF World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC. April 21, 2017]
The sale of Societe Tunisiene de Siderugie ElFouladh to ThyssenKrupp could well be on the cards after Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger dined with President Donald J. Trump on January 25, 2018 along with White House National Security Council Adviser Lt. General H.R. McMaster at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
President Trump has made private sector investment in areas threatened by ISIS/Al Qaeda terrorism a “national security priority” and whose policy is being carried out by General McMaster through Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) headed by Dallas native, Ray Washburne.
In an interview with Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA during the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings, Belakhoua said the Bizerte-based steel plant can be transformed into a specialty oil services steel company serving the needs Tunisian-based oil operators such as oil giants such as Italy’s ENI (NYSE:E) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) and smaller players such as Woodlands, Texas-based Andarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) and Austria’s OMV Group.
Ali Belakhoua is also a member of the Natural Resources Committee of the Tunisian Parliament and is the front runner to become the first elected Mayor of Bizerte when municipal elections are held in early May 2018.
Belakhoua said he spoke in parliament in opposition to the sale of El Fouladh because the consortium was only interested in the defunct steel plant’s USD 50m in scrap metal.
He said he would support any bidder willing to take over ElFouladh from the Tunisian government and relaunch the company as a specialty steel business.
The Tunisian-American MP said there has been informal contacts from agents and local bankers on possible bids for the plant but none of the companies have made a formal offer for the steel plant.
[Tenaris Chairman and CEO Paolo Rocca speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass at SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, DC. June 20, 2016]
Tenaris, the NYSE and Milan stock exchange listed group, is also a good candidate to take over ElFouladh as it can easily receive an estimated USD 250-300m in project financing and loan guarantees from the World Bank’s IFC, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the African Development Bank.
Tenaris is completing a USD 1.8 bn pipe plant near Houston, Texas.
Marcegaglia, the family-owned steel specialty steel group based in Mantova, Italy – is another good candidate for the Bizerte steel plant considering it is an industry leader in the renewable energy sector in which Tunisia is the global leader for sustainable innovation and development. Emma Marcegaglia — a part owner of Marcegaglia — is currently the Chairman of Italy’s ENI oil and gas giant.
ENI Chairman Marcegaglia may also have a chance to discuss potential investments by ENI or her family company with President Trump during the World Economic Forum. ENI is a major E&P operator in all markets considered of national security interest to the Trump Administration: North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Libya), Kazakhstan and Iraq.
[ENI Chairman Emma Marcegaglia speaks with Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA using Google Glass at Bertlesmann Foundation forum Shifting Gears: Merging Growth and Prosperity at US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. April 16, 2015.]
ThyssenKrupp can even transform the Bizerte steel plant for their renewable energy manufacturing business and tap the growing wind farm business in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and eventually Libya.
ThyssenKrupp already operates 40 companies in the United States employing over 14,500 Americans, with headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois.
While ThyssenKrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger dined with President Trump, General McMaster and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Thyssenkrupp Elevators and European Space Agency (ESA) backed Sierre, Switzerland and Dusseldorf autonomous vehicle start-up, Teleretail AG co-founder and CEO Torsten Scholl and co-Founder and COO wife Xenia Scholl were wowing US Senator Shelley Moore Capito (D-WV), US Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Senator Joe Manchin III (D-WV) attending the Washington Auto Show The Public Policy Show in Washington, DC.
[Teleretail AG co-Founders Torsten and Xenia Scholl filmed by Capitol Intelligence/MENA using CI Glass demonstrating Thyssenkrupp backed driverless vehicle to US Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), US Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and US Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WV) at DC Auto Show]
In fact, the Washington Auto Show hosted field hearings both by the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on January 24 and January 25, 2018 to discuss policy regarding autonomous (AV) and electric vehicles (EV). It is the first time in history that United States Senate committees held a hearing out of the US Senate in Washington, DC, The Washington Auto Show President and CEO John O’Donnell said.
Teleretail’s diverless robot impressed the West Virginia pro-business senators Capito and Manchin are working together to transform West Virginia into a center for innovative IT technology, ranging from Fintech blockhain hyperledger distribution and cybersecurity to applied technology in autonomous vehicles like Teleretail.
According to West Virginia Congressman David McKinley (R-WV), West Virginia’s former state capital, Wheeling, is the ideal location to set-up domestic and innovative high tech companies.
Wheeling is almost equidistant to Carnegie Mellon and US aluminium Alcoa in Pittsburgh and University of West Virginia in Morgantown.
[US Congressman David McKinley speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on Wheeling, WV during Senate and House GOP retreat organized by the Congressional Institute at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia. February 2, 2018]
“In Wheeling, you have access to the best IT and skilled workforce you can ask for in the United States.” Wheeling native and Orrick Chairman Emeritus, Ralph Baxter said
Baxter, who made Orrick the leading US global law firm, was the visionary that put Orrick global back office in Wheeling and bringing costs saving of about USD 500m to the law firm.
The three day Republican Senate and House Retreat at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia keynoted by President Donald Trump just highlights the incredible influence the relatively small state of West Virginia (circa 2m) has on national economic policy, It also helped that the owner of America’s finest resorts is a billionaire former coal baron and current governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice.
The Bizerte member of Parliament Ali Belakhoua said he is available to help any bidder and their financial advisers willing to relaunch ElFouladh with the aim of preserving and creating scores of new jobs for his citizens at geo-politically strategic Port of Bizerte.
By PK Semler in Washington, DC; Bizerte, Tunisia and the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. For information please call +1-202-549-3399 or email pks@capitolintelgroup.com
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