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Billionaire businessman Naveen Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, is expanding his steel and alloy empire overseas, even as he ramps up his power play in India. His latest move is a bidding war against Azerbaijan government-backed Baku Steel for control of the flagship Italian alloy-making company Acciaierie d’Italia. If he gets this, he adds one more asset to his fast-growing empire across India, West Asia, and Africa, even as he consolidates presence in Europe.
Jindal has had a remarkable year, marked by his acquisition of Vitkovice, a 750,000-tonne-per-annum downstream steel processing mill based in the Czech Republic. He is in the process of acquiring the Bhadreshwar Vidyut power plant in Gujarat at ₹500 crore. And he has announced his venture into nuclear power projects in India through a new subsidiary, Jindal Nuclear Power Pvt Ltd (part of Jindal Renewables), with plans to build 18 GWe of nuclear capacity over the next two decades, at an estimated investment of $21 billion.
He has also ramped up his national and international operations across the steel, coal and iron ore businesses as well as beefed up the power portfolio.
Negotiating hard
The 54-year-old steel baron’s pitch to take control of Acciaierie d’Italia is primarily through the privately owned promoter entity Jindal Steel (International).
Discussions with the Italian government are likely to begin “soon” and the company has made a revised offer of at least €2-3 billion (₹18,000-27,000 crore), reportedly outbidding Baku at the moment, sources in the know said.
“If required, offers could be upped by another €1 billion or so. But until discussions with the government begin, all things are fluid,” a person in the know told businessline.
Jindal’s first offer was at least €120 million for the warehouse and guaranteed €2 billion in investments for decarbonisation. By contrast, Baku Steel is offering around €500 million for the warehouse, with a likely addition of €450 million. The catch? Baku is guaranteeing cheaper gas supplies (Azerbaijan is a major gas supplier to Italy); Jindal, on the other hand, is proposing an electric arc furnace set-up — a technology his companies specialise in.
In terms of employment, the Italian steel group has around 9,000 workers. Both companies have proposed job cuts.
The Jindal Group did not respond to queries from businessline.
In its heyday, Acciaierie d’Italia used to produce 12 mtpa of steel, but is currently operating at 2.5-3 mtpa capacity in the face of financial difficulties. The plan is to hike capacities to 7 mtpa.
European footprint
Earlier this fiscal, Jindal, through his private investment arm, bought controlling stakes in the Czech steel-maker Vitkovice Steel. The deal, valued at €150 million, is noteworthy because it will give the Jindal Group access to value-added premium offerings, which are in demand in the region.
His next round of expansion in Europe comes amid the looming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) rules — the world’s first carbon tariff on imported goods — which will come into force on January 1, 2026. Designed to support the European Union’s ambitious decarbonisation goals, CBAM will impose a carbon fee on imports such as steel, aluminium, and fertilizers, while seeking to ensure the competitiveness of European industries. So, steel prices will be determined by the carbon emission of the product at the time of manufacture.
Additionally, there are the proposed Trump tariffs — according to which, alloy moving from Europe to the US will have an additional levy — causing concern for the listed steel-makers in India who export to these countries.
Incidentally, Jindal runs India’s third largest private steel company, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), which also exports to Europe — a segment witnessing a decline due to economic slowdown in large buyer markets like Belgium and Spain. Thus, the European acquisitions give him a foothold in the region’s markets and an entry into value-added or premium products.
Jindal is also eyeing operations in Venezuela’s largest iron-ore complex, a project it has led since late 2023.
International play
Jindal has already made substantial investments overseas.
A BJP member of Parliament and president of the country’s apex steel producer group, Indian Steel Association, several of Jindal’s private overseas entities are breaking even with “comfortable debt levels”.
Vulcan Minerals operates a profitable coal mine in Mozambique — acquired from Brazil’s Vale in 2021 for $270 million — and is a major supplier of coking coal to JSPL (Jindal’s listed steel-maker in India) and other integrated steel players in India. In Mozambique, Jindal’s mining operations account for 18 per cent of the African nation’s GDP.
Efforts are on to operationalise an acquired iron ore mine in Cameroon to ensure Jindal’s steel-making unit in Oman, Vulcan Steel — another privately held entity with 2 mtpa capacity and purchased from JSPL for an enterprise value of $1 billion — gets its share of raw materials.
Vulcan Green Steel, another private company, is constructing a 5 mtpa plant in Oman and will manufacture low-carbon steel in a tie-up with Volkswagen Group. Starting in 2027, Vulcan Green Steel will produce automotive grades and other high-strength steels in Oman.
Power play
Natural gas will be used in Duqm (Oman) operations initially before switching to green energy to cut carbon emissions by 70 per cent. The facility is under construction and slated to come on stream in 2026.
This aligns with Jindal’s other ambition of ramping up his power generation portfolio.
In India, Jindal Power currently has projects in Raigarh (3,400 MW), Nellore (600 MW) — acquired in 2022 at ₹300 crore, and at Dhule (300 MW). The acquisition of Bhadreshwar Vidyut adds 300 MW to the company’s 4,600 MW portfolio.
The company is also setting up a 300 MW thermal power project overseas, in Botswana, and expanding its footprint in renewables.
Jindal Renewables (JRPL) aims to pioneer renewable energy projects in India, currently developing close to 3 GW of diverse renewable assets with power offtake locked in. It aims to develop around 12 GW of renewable energy assets, storage facilities, as well as significant green hydrogen production facilities by 2030 and become amongst the largest de-carbonisation solution providers in the country.
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