British firm GFG Alliance, also known as Liberty House, signed a deal over the weekend to buy steelmaker Arrium.
South Australian premier Jay Weatherill says it's a massive relief for the local economy, which revolves around the steelworks.
"This is a great victory for Whyalla, an extraordinary victory for South Australia and a very important victory for our nation."
Liberty House is not the buyer many were expecting.
The South Korean consortium, Newlake, was the preferred bidder.
It was granted an exclusivity period but that ended on Friday with no deal.
Now, attention turns to locking-in the sale to the British company.
Arrium's creditors still need to give their final approval, as does Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.
But federal treasurer Scott Morrison says he expects that hurdle to be cleared quickly.
"The next steps are of course the approvals of the creditors but also the Foreign Investment Review Board process, which will move speedily. We have already been in a position to agree the conditions around the Foreign Investment Review Board process and I expect to be able to sign off on that later today, which I think will give the added certainty for the workers in Whyalla, for the community in Whyalla."
Arrium was placed into voluntary administration last year as it struggled with billions of dollars of debt.
It's not yet known how much money Liberty House has agreed to pay.
But Premier Weatherill says the company has promised to keep the more than 3,000 workers employed in Whyalla - and could even expand to hire more.
"The company themselves are pledging to retain all of the workforce at the Whyalla steelworks and promising to invest in upgrading the steelworks in the future. This is a very exciting set of achievements for the Whyalla community. Fifteen months of uncertainty have taken an enormous toll on this community."
The South Australian government says the sale will also save jobs in the industries that support the steelworks and provide the raw materials.
The Australian Workers Union welcomed the announcement, praising the company's strong track record of investment in heavy industry around Europe.
Scott Morrison and Jay Weatherill will meet the buyers tomorrow and expect to finalise the sale by the end of next month.
Share
