Naveen Jindal, the vice chairman and managing director of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., is expanding his steel empire internationally, aiming to rival the scale of his publicly listed company in India. Over the last five years, Jindal has established a comprehensive steel business with assets spanning Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, including mines in Mozambique and Cameroon, steel production facilities in Oman, and a value-added steel plant in the Czech Republic. His latest target is Acciaierie d’Italia, the largest steel plant in Europe, located in Taranto, Italy, previously known as Ilva.
While ten companies have expressed interest in various assets of the plant, only three have submitted bids for the entire operation. Jindal Steel (International), a privately owned entity, is considered a strong contender for the acquisition, according to sources familiar with the situation. If successful, Jindal, aged 54, could lead a steel empire with a production capacity of 14 million tonnes per annum through his private ventures by the end of 2028. Concurrently, JSPL is projected to exceed a steelmaking capacity of 16 million tonnes per annum. Together, these enterprises would position Naveen Jindal among the world’s leading steel magnates, alongside industry giants like Lakshmi Mittal of ArcelorMittal and his half-brother Sajjan Jindal, who heads JSW Steel, India’s largest steel producer.
In terms of assets, Jindal’s private company, Vulcan Minerals, operates a profitable coal mine in Mozambique, acquired from Brazil’s Vale in 2021 for $270 million. Additionally, Jindal’s firms own an iron ore mine in Cameroon, purchased from Australia’s Legend Mining in 2014, which is now being revitalized with plans for a beneficiation plant, a pellet plant, and a pipeline to transport the raw material to the Port of Kribi. The strategy includes shipping iron ore from Cameroon to Oman for steel production, along with surplus direct-reduced iron (DRI). In Oman, Vulcan Steel, another privately held company under Jindal, acquired Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel from JSPL in two phases in 2020 and 2021, with a total enterprise value of around $1 billion. This company operates a 2 million tonnes per annum integrated steel plant in Sohar, Oman.
