ArcelorMittal Shares Fall After Disclosure of Kazakhstan Business Talks

By Pierre Bertrand

ArcelorMittal shares fell Monday after the Luxembourg-based steelmaker said it had recently signed a preliminary agreement with the government of Kazakhstan to transfer the ownership of its operations in the country to the republic.

At 0919 GMT, Amsterdam-listed shares traded down 4.6% at EUR20.11.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau, ArcelorMittal's company in the country, disclosed on Sunday that it had been in talks about the transfer of the company to the government for several months and that an in-principle agreement had been reached days before dozens of miners were killed Saturday in an explosion at its Kostenko coal mine.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau in its statement said that a number of fatal accidents had occurred at its mines over the last two years due to their complex geology.

Temirtau added that "while significant efforts have been made to stabilize the situation, we have agreed with the Kazakh government to find a new path forward that will ensure the sustainability of the operation."

ArcelorMittal said it would work to complete this transaction as quickly as possible while also supporting those families affected by Saturday's incident.

Write to Pierre Bertrand at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 30, 2023 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)

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