Two overseas buyers have submitted final bids for entire remaining assets of troubled steel and mining company Arrium, its administrators said on Thursday.
Administrator Mark Mentha of KordaMentha, which has operated the company since its collapse in April 2016, said the offers will be reviewed and compared in consultation with sale advisors Morgan Stanley.
"This is a complex business and the offers have many conditions to be worked through. This will require active dialogue with the bidders, government and key stakeholders," he said in a statement.
KordaMentha has not provided specific details of the two bidders, but Mr Mentha said both had filed applications with the Foreign Investment Review Board, indicating their foreign origins.
Local media reports on Thursday named Britain's Liberty House industrials and commodities group, and South Korean private equity firm Newlake Alliance Management as the two bidders.
Arrium, formerly known as OneSteel, was placed in voluntary administration in April 2016 after its lenders refused to take a severe haircut on the debt as part of a $A1.2 billion lifeline from a Blackstone fund.
The company, which formerly operated as BHP's long steel products division, was hit hard by a plunge in iron ore and steel prices over the past two years that left it struggling with a high debt load.
In November 2016, KordaMentha sold Arrium's Moly-Cop grinding media business - the company's only profit-making division, to US private equity firm American Industrial Partners for $1.64 billion.
The proceeds were used to reduce Arrium's total debt of $2.8 billion, with all four of Australia's big banks among its creditors. The creditors agreed on a plan to sell the remaining assets in order to realise value.
Arrium's current assets include the flagship Whyalla steelworks and port, an east coast steel business, and an iron ore mine in South Australia.
The administrators have cut costs by $300 million across the company through reduced supply contracts and savings and have also sought funding from the state and federal governments.
The South Australian state government has already pledged $50 million to the new owner to help upgrade the plant and and has called on the federal government to also provide assistance.
KordaMentha will provide details of the preferred bidder in due course and the sale process is expected to be completed by the end of June.
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