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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Steel: Liberty to submit bid for Tata's UK business | Steel: Liberty to submit bid for Tata's UK business |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Liberty House plans to submit a formal bid on Tuesday to buy Tata Steel's UK assets, which include the Port Talbot works employing about 4,000 people. | Liberty House plans to submit a formal bid on Tuesday to buy Tata Steel's UK assets, which include the Port Talbot works employing about 4,000 people. |
| Liberty, headed by Sanjeev Gupta, was first to express an interest in the assets when they were put up for sale. | Liberty, headed by Sanjeev Gupta, was first to express an interest in the assets when they were put up for sale. |
| A spokesman for Liberty told the BBC that the firm had put together a team of advisers and financial backers. | A spokesman for Liberty told the BBC that the firm had put together a team of advisers and financial backers. |
| "The formal process is to submit a letter of intent; it amounts to a bid. It will be done on Tuesday," he said. | "The formal process is to submit a letter of intent; it amounts to a bid. It will be done on Tuesday," he said. |
| In addition to the Port Talbot factory - the UK's largest steelworks - Tata's remaining assets include sites at Newport, where more than 1,300 people are employed, and Rotherham, which employs 1,200. Tata also has operations at Corby, Shotton and Teesside. | In addition to the Port Talbot factory - the UK's largest steelworks - Tata's remaining assets include sites at Newport, where more than 1,300 people are employed, and Rotherham, which employs 1,200. Tata also has operations at Corby, Shotton and Teesside. |
| Macquarie, the Australian bank, was advising Liberty on a potential bid, and is considered a potential financial backer of any takeover. | Macquarie, the Australian bank, was advising Liberty on a potential bid, and is considered a potential financial backer of any takeover. |
| Business Secretary Sajid Javid said the government was "doing everything we can" to secure a future for Tata's UK steel works. | Business Secretary Sajid Javid said the government was "doing everything we can" to secure a future for Tata's UK steel works. |
| Asked by MPs if Tata would rush through a sale by the end of June, Mr Javid said he hoped the company would remain flexible about timing. | Asked by MPs if Tata would rush through a sale by the end of June, Mr Javid said he hoped the company would remain flexible about timing. |
| "They don't have an unlimited amount of time, but they do understand that it does take time," he said. | "They don't have an unlimited amount of time, but they do understand that it does take time," he said. |
| What is Liberty House? | What is Liberty House? |
| Liberty House started life in the university room of Indian-born founder Sanjeev Gupta. | Liberty House started life in the university room of Indian-born founder Sanjeev Gupta. |
| While a student at Cambridge University in 1992, the budding entrepreneur started a trading company that has since become a global steel and commodities business with annual sales of more than £2bn. | While a student at Cambridge University in 1992, the budding entrepreneur started a trading company that has since become a global steel and commodities business with annual sales of more than £2bn. |
| With operations in 30 countries, and headquarters in London, Dubai, and Singapore, Mr Gupta's Liberty has also emerged as a possible saviour of Britain's steel industry. | With operations in 30 countries, and headquarters in London, Dubai, and Singapore, Mr Gupta's Liberty has also emerged as a possible saviour of Britain's steel industry. |
| Liberty's focus is on recycling the mountains of scrap metal generated in the UK, rather than the historical method of producing steel in blast furnaces. | Liberty's focus is on recycling the mountains of scrap metal generated in the UK, rather than the historical method of producing steel in blast furnaces. |
| Last month, it acquired Tata Steel's plants in Lanarkshire. In recent years, it has reached similar deals with other companies for steel plants in Newport and the Black Country. | Last month, it acquired Tata Steel's plants in Lanarkshire. In recent years, it has reached similar deals with other companies for steel plants in Newport and the Black Country. |
| £1m-a-day losses | £1m-a-day losses |
| A management buyout team, under the name of Excalibur Steel UK Limited, has confirmed it has registered a letter of intent with Tata expressing its formal interest in its UK steel assets. | |
| It has appointed investment banker Mark Rhydderch-Roberts as a non-executive director. He joins Stuart Wilkie, the previous head of Tata's UK strip steel business, and former Alcan senior executive and venture capitalist Roger Maggs on the board. | |
| Mr Wilkie, chief executive of Excalibur, said in a statement: "It was only two weeks ago we made the decision to pursue a buy-out that enables the management and staff to take a stake in the ownership and operation of a strategic British industry. | |
| "We believe we have a large number of the pieces in place required to make this a success, including a management team with vast experience of steelmaking and processing." | |
| The government has promised to support any buyer of the business by taking up to a 25% stake in a new business and making hundreds of millions of pounds of finance available. | The government has promised to support any buyer of the business by taking up to a 25% stake in a new business and making hundreds of millions of pounds of finance available. |
| Tata has not publicly set a deadline for any deal, but has made it clear it cannot sustain its £1m-a-day losses indefinitely and does not want to prolong the uncertainty for workers and customers. | Tata has not publicly set a deadline for any deal, but has made it clear it cannot sustain its £1m-a-day losses indefinitely and does not want to prolong the uncertainty for workers and customers. |
| Tata's Scunthorpe operation, which employs more than 3,000 people, has been sold to investment firm Greybull Capital for a nominal £1. | Tata's Scunthorpe operation, which employs more than 3,000 people, has been sold to investment firm Greybull Capital for a nominal £1. |