More than 30 potential buyers for the Whyalla steelworks, SA Premier says
There are "at least 33 interested parties" to acquire the Whyalla steelworks, with a majority of them based overseas, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas says.
Four months after tipping the steelworks into administration and removing GFG Alliance as its owners, the state government on Tuesday announced that a secure data room has been set up for prospective buyers to conduct due diligence on purchasing the steelworks and its associated mines.
Steelworks administrators KordaMentha has previously said that there were up to 12 "interested parties" in the steelworks, but the Premier today revised that number up to "at least 33".
Mr Malinauskas said more than 60 per cent of the prospective buyers were from overseas, including "very significant global steelmakers with names that are synonymous with serious investment in the industry".
"If you had said to me back in February — when we made that major intervention to remove GFG and put the steelworks on the path to new ownership — that we'd be in the position that we are in now, I would have taken it in a second," he said.
"We, of course, have got a long way to go before we are able to sell the steelworks to new ownership and set it up for the future.
Mr Malinauskas did not name the global companies involved, but said the interest parties were from India, Japan and Korea.
Australian company BlueScope Steel had also previously been linked to a potential takeover, with KordaMentha tapping the firm as a steelmaking adviser during the administration.
South Korean steel giant POSCO has also been mooted as a potential buyer.
The amount of interest in the steelworks has not changed the state government's expectations for when the steelworks will be sold, Mr Malinauskas said.
The premier said a sale in the second half of 2026 "probably looks about right".
It comes as the state government continues to pour money into the facility to keep it operating during administration.
June's state budget revealed another $384 million had been set aside for KordaMentha to keep the steelworks running until it found a buyer — on top of an initial $384 million allocated when it took over the steelworks in February.
The new $384 million may not be expended in full, and the state government said it expected it to be split 50-50 between the state and federal governments.
Mr Malinauskas said the "run rate of expenditure" during the administration was "going down".
The federal government is yet to commit to its half of the $384 million in administration funding earmarked for next financial year.
Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres said the federal government was working "carefully" with the state government and would not make announcements about future investments "on the fly".
"Of course, you would expect this is public money we're going through a proper due diligence process working carefully with our partners in the South Australian government," Mr Ayres said.
"I would be expecting to make announcements about that shortly."
Mr Malinauskas also attended a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday to mark the completion of a $32.4 million upgrade of Whyalla Airport.
The upgrade — funded with $16.2 million from the federal government, $13.8 million from the state and $2.4 million from the council — will allow QantasLink's 74-seat Q400 aircraft to service Whyalla.
The council-owned airport was previously running on a deficit of $800,000 a year.
It also suffered a drop in passenger numbers and the permanent departure of Rex Airlines due to a security screening charge.
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