According to Bratislava-based Finweb, the prospective buyers, Hesteel Group, have made a 1.4 billion euro ($1.5 billion) bid for the factory, the largest acquisition or merger by a Chinese company so far this year.
"The sale of U.S Steel Košice is beginning. Its American owners have given the 'green light' to Chinese company Hesteel Group, which swept all other offers off the table," Finweb reported.
The owners reportedly rejected lesser offers from the CEFC China Energy conglomerate, and a Czech consortium led by Moravia Steel.
In 2015 Hesteel produced 47.7 million tons of steel, making it the world's second-largest steel producer in the world behind Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal.
If approved, the Slovakian purchase would be the second by Hesteel in Europe in as many years, after the company bought the Smederevo steelworks in Serbia last year. The acquisition was also made from U.S. Steel, which had bought Smederovo in 2012 for one US dollar.
In July, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) initiated an anti-dumping investigation with the EU Commission, which charges that the acquisition has resulted in cheap Chinese steel being re-exported from Serbia to the EU.
On multiple occasions in recent months the EU has imposed duties on Chinese steel imports of up to 81.1 percent after finding they were being sold at heavily dumped prices.
"The attitude of European institutions to the planned transaction may be twofold. Firstly, in the EU they think that if the steel industry ends up in strong financial hands, steel will be produced and Europe's position in the steel market will be strengthened. On the other hand, the plant will belong to China. Europeans understand that China is not taking this step because it is concerned about Europe. This is an absolutely strategic, pragmatic decision made in order to strengthen Chinese control over the world's steel capacity," Belyaev said.
"China's big ship is cutting through the water, without paying heed to any storm. It is taking its own course, not paying attention to the EU's attacks in the form of anti-dumping duties or the financial difficulties of the absorbed company. China psychologically positions itself as a country that can afford a lot financially. Especially now it has grounds not to pay attention to the global cataclysms that concern both Europe and the United States. It (China) is doing what it sees fit in terms of strengthening its global influence."
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