Arcelor Mittal pulls out of Ilva acquisition

Arcelor Mittal S.A. said in a press release on Monday that it is pulling out of the planned acquisition of the Italian steelworks company Ilva, citing the inability to implement its industrial plan due to a recent decision by the Italian Parliament to remove previously agreed legal immunity.

The agreed legal shield was supposed to give Arcelor Mittal's managers immunity from prosecution concerning the clean-up plan for the Ilva-owned Taranto plant."Other serious occurrences, independent of the Company's will, have also led to a situation of legal and operational uncertainty that has further significantly impaired the ability to carry out the necessary operations at Ilva and operate the Taranto plant," the Luxembourg-based company said in the statement.