According to a report today, there is about half a dozen parties currently interested in Moly-Cop, and whether the grinding media business is bought or floated is expected to be known in October.
The Australian names Apollo, Bain Capital and Blackstone among bidders interested in acquiring the company, which has about four-fifths of the global market share for grinding balls and is valued at an estimated $1.5 billion. The list is expected to further shorten in the first week of next month.
The rest of the Arrium group – which went into administration in April – is being sold as Arrium Australia, and includes the Whyalla steelworks.
The sale of Moly-Cop is being advised by Deutsche Bank.