Whyalla steelworks owner plans float for Australian operations

Hi Nicholas,

I read with interest your article above that appeared in The Age on March 11 2019.

I represent a large group of Arrium shareholders (Arrium Shareholders United) that hold in excess of 250 million shares.

I propose an alternative view of the sale process of Arrium Australia by the appointed administrator KordaMentha in August 2017 and the subsequent floating of the Australian operations by its purchaser GFC Alliance.

Are you aware of the net sale price of Arrium Australia? Did the sale process and price, managed by Morgan Stanley on behalf of KordaMentha, meet commercial and stakeholder fair expectations?

Did ASIC and FIRB rigorously examine the sale of a key asset of national strategic importance (the original BHP)?, I think not....

Your article refers to a near $5 billion float, if I told you that the net sale price of Arrium Australia to GFC Alliance in August 2017 was 592 Million AUD you wouldn't believe me.

It would be like you selling your parents home for 12 percent of its value...

Attached is Form 524 from ASIC I obtained after lodging a formal complaint regarding the lack of disclosure by the administrator of the sale price of Arrium Australia and ASIC's granting of the administrator's request to defer financial reporting until October 2020.

Page 10 of the document lists the net sale price.

Now that this disturbing information is available, a formal complaint will now be made to ASIC, urging ASIC to investigate the professional conduct of the administrator during the sale process.

It is also worth noting that during 2017 commodity prices had surged from the bottom of the cycle and that Arrium's competitor Bluescope had issued 3 profit upgrades.

The sale of Arrium Australia for 592 million is worse than "highway robbery".....with 80,000 shareholders and 20,000 trade creditors "thrown under the bus"

I urge you to write a followup article..

I can be contacted on

kind regards,