ESCO Shares Up for Sale, Again

Iran Privatization Organization will reoffer 16.75% equity stake of Esfahan Steel Company on the over-the-counter Iran Fara Bourse on December 19.

The block sale comprises 1.31 billion shares, each valued at 2,749 rials, marking a 300-rial drop compared to last block sale.

This is the fourth time ESCO’s shares are being put up for sale. According to Bourse Press, the first was back in February with a 35% stake, followed by a 73% offering in June and a 16.75% offer on November 17. The shares gradually declined in price but did not attract any buyer, as the company is not posting any profit.

At least 16.75% of ESCO’s shares owned by the National Steel Industry Pension Fund must be sold to clear the fund’s debts to the government. The rest of the company’s shares are owned by Social Security Investment Company (known by its Persian acronym SHASTA), IPO and other holders.

ESCO was founded in 1971 using Russian technology and is currently the biggest long steel producer in Iran. The company filed a loss of 3.6 trillion rials (about $98 million) in the first half of the current Iranian year that started on March 20. The loss is, however, 10% less than in the same period of the previous year.

The company launched a rail production line last month with the production capacity of 400,000 tons of UIC60 rails per year.