First Parts Of Billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's Steel Empire Face Bankruptcy

The factories set for bankruptcy protection are two foundries at Poitou plus an alloy wheel factory near Chateauroux which employ some 850 staff

Three French auto parts factories belonging to Alvance Aluminium, part of the steelmaking GFG Alliance owned by Indian-British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, will file for bankruptcy protection on Friday, the company and unions said. The factories will be the first in the steel magnate's empire to seek bankruptcy protection since the collapse last month of Greensill, a British firm which was a major provider of trade finance for GFG Alliance. The factories set for bankruptcy protection are two foundries at Poitou plus an alloy wheel factory near Chateauroux which employ some 850 staff. An Alvance spokesman said the decision does not include Alvance sites in the French city of Dunkerque, Duffel in Belgium, or Lochaber in Scotland, which he said "are all functioning normally, thanks to their strong positions on the market and positive cash flow".