Indian company Tata Steel is to begin accepting bids for two of its British units in Hartlepool, Rotherham and Stocksebridge. It will be selling its specialty steel division and pipeline tube operations with the hope of finding a single buyer. There are already seven potential buyers that have been shortlisted but the company has not divulged any names. Tata is the third-largest manufacturer of steel for the aerospace industry and its pipeline tubing business supplies steel products to the oil and gas industry. The business is thought to be losing around GBP 1m per day in Britain due to cheaper imports from China, and because of a global surplus of steel, and high energy expenditures. KPMG is running the sale of the two divisions of Tata Steel and the sale is expected to run through July.
