Tata Steel UK unit attracts Hebei firm

Tata Steel Ltd's UK assets have attracted interest from Hebei Iron & Steel Group as the company shortlists bidders for the money-losing operations, people familiar with the matter said.

Indian producer JSW Steel Ltd is also weighing a bid, which would put it in competition with Liberty House Group and Excalibur Steel UK Ltd, a buyout team led by a Tata executive, said the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations are private.

Tata Steel announced in March it was considering the sale of its UK operations. The business includes its Port Talbot plant in South Wales along with other assets around the UK. Producers in China, the world's largest producer and consumer of steel, are eyeing alternate markets as local demand falls.