Montenegro's EPCG accepts 8B's offer to lease Zeljezara's assets

8B Capital has submitted a draft lease contract, which was accepted by the board of directors and will be now forwarded to the government for further action, EPCG said in a statement on Wednesday.

The signing of the lease contract will also need the approval of EPCG shareholders.

Earlier this week, local news daily Vijesti reported that 8B Capital has remained the only company that has applied for individual negotiations on the lease with EPCG.

In April, EPCG said it was inviting all interested parties for individual negotiations on leasing the production capacities of EPCG Zeljezara, after two unsuccessful attempts to find a partner to the troubled steel mill.

8B Capital, owned by Russian businessman Igor Shamis, was the sole qualified bidder in the two failed tenders for leasing EPCG Zeljezara's production assets. However, its offers were turned down by EPCG both times due to a failure to provide bank guarantees and pay the required deposit.

EPCG acquired Zeljezara Niksic from Turkey's Toscelik for 20 million euro ($21.7 million) in December 2022.

Located in the western city of Niksic, EPCG Zeljezara has two 60-tonne electric arc furnaces that can produce an estimated 300,000 metric tonnes of crude steel per year.

($ = 0.921 euro)