Italy economic development minister Carlo Calenda signed a decree transferring the business to the consortium on Monday. 

ArcelorMittal and partners Marcegaglia and Banca Intesa Sanpaolo bested a rival consortium led by JSW Steel by offering EUR1.8 billion for  ILVA and offering to invest more than EUR2.3 billion into its facilities. 

“We will work with all interested parties to ensure a stronger, better and cleaner future for ILVA, its employees and the regions in which it operates. Our plan is supported by a significant investment program that will enable the company to improve its product mix, win back market share and address the environmental issues. Our teams are excited to have the opportunity to help ILVA re-establish its position as Italy’s premier steel company,” ArcelorMittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement.  

With a buyer named, the Italian government and the consortium will now focus on finalizing an agreement. 

The (London) Financial Times said the sale is a step “toward the long-awaited consolidation of Europe’s steel industry.” 

Meanwhile, the consortium will have to work out a new labor agreement with ILVA’s unionized workers, who are opposed to the ArcelorMittal deal due to potential job losses, according to Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore business newspaper. 

“An industrial plan that starts with 5,000 to 6,000 layoffs does not meet the needs of workers…if there are possibilities to improve the situation, the government has to explore them all,” Susanna Camusso, secretary of the CGIL trade union, told the publication. 

ILVA employs 14,220 people, a tally that includes 4,100 who previously were laid off, the publication said.