The revised offer bested that from a South Korean consortium, which had been declared the preferred bidder about three weeks ago. 

“Taking all factors into consideration, including the timeframes required to complete a sale, the administrators and sale advisers Morgan Stanley decided the GFG Alliance offer was superior to the conditional offer of the Korean consortium with whom we were negotiating,” said Mark Mentha, a partner with Arrium administrator KordaMentha.  

According to The Guardian newspaper, the South Korean bid had sought AU$400 million in federal funding in addition to the AU$50 million that had been offered by the South Australian state government to the buyer. 

The Guardian said the Guptas offered to buy the business and keep the company’s integrated Whyalla steel works in operation without any federal government support. 

The deal, which is pending approval from Arrium’s creditors’ committee, is expected to close in August. 

Through the deal,  the Gupta family will acquire 10 million tons of iron ore production, Australia’s largest steel works and its only producer of rail, 2 million tons of scrap processing, two electric arc furnaces, three bar and rod mills, Australia’s largest pipe and tube maker, and a steel distribution and rebar fabrication business. 

“We have a vision to create a vertically integrated and sustainable industrial business that encompasses mining, metal recycling, primary metal production, engineering and distribution, and which also includes the use of renewable energy consistent with our Greensteel strategy. We aim to leverage the advantages of integration across the value chain, from raw materials and metal production to high-end engineered products, coupled with supply chain and value-added financial solutions,” said Sanjeev Gupta in a statement. 

“The Arrium business fits perfectly with this strategy, and we believe it has an exciting future leveraging our Greensteel vision, which has been well proven in the U.K. The acquisition will secure the jobs of over 5,500 Australian workers, a similar number to that which GFG Alliance has saved in the U.K.,” he said. 

A purchase price wasn’t disclosed, but the deal ends months of uncertainty and secures the jobs of more than 5,550 jobs in Australia. Those jobs had been in question since April 2016, when Arrium was placed into voluntary administration after collapsing under the weight of its debt and low steel prices. 

Whyalla Mayor Lyn Breuer told The Australian Business Review that news of the sale is “very welcome.” 

“We’ve been through a terrible time in the last 15 months, with a lot of uncertainty, a lot of doom and gloom, and for quite some time people were feeling very, very uncomfortable,” she said.

Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton also said the announcement was a relief. 

"This is the outcome we have been working so hard towards for well over a year," he said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. "This is the certainty we wanted to deliver for workers and their families."