Wonder if there are some back room deals underway outside the SISP process for Clarke to scoop Algoma too?  Seems funny to me there has been no notification of a further extension of the DIP loans.

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http://www.saultstar.com/2017/05/01/clarke-buys-former-essar-minnesota-taconite-plant

The man purported to want in on the Essar Steel Algoma Sales and Investment Solicitation Process has officially purchased the former Essar Steel Minnesota in Nashwauk.

The Virginia businessman and his partners were the only group to bid on auction.

Their bid of $550 million was accepted, resulting in what could be a new Iron Range force, reports the Star Tribune.

The report also states that the plan is to merge the company, called Mesabi Metallics, with the Grand Rapids, Minn. And Reynolds, Ind., Magnetation properties that Clarke bought out of bankruptcy earlier this year.

Clarke is hoping to complete the taconite plant project within two years, which had come to a standstill well before Essar filed for bankruptcy on the project last year.

Clarke's plans are to use the iron ore pellets from Nashauk and ore from Magnetation's Grand Rapids plants to feed the new DRI plant, converting low-grade taconite pellets into a purer brick of iron. The bricks would be used to convert iron ore into steel.

However, the brick is not something believed to be able to be used in a steel mill like Essar Steel Algoma.

The Sault Star reported last month that a newly formed company, Maga Steel Corporation, is aligning itself with United Steelworkers Local 2251. The union has signed a letter of support with the company, which recommends certain terms for the settlement of a new collective bargaining agreement between Maga and the union.

To date, Clarke, or Maga Steel Corp., has not attempted to enter the SISP process, according to records and documents filed on the monitor's website.

The court sanctioned SISP process had initially allowed for consideration of offers late in the process.

But in February, after hearing a motion by Essar Capital Limited asking to be allowed into the SISP process, Newbould noted that “reopening the SISP would delay the restructuring process by several months and the DIP lenders are highly unlikely to extend the DIP Facility a third time in order to permit it,” citing a number of reasons specific to the Essar Capital Limited request.

The ruling also suggested he would be cautious if the SISP process was to be reopened.

“To re-open the SISP would be unfair to the bidders who participated in the SISP and interfere with the efficacy and integrity of the process approved by this court,” the document receives. “A court must exercise extreme caution before it interferes with a previously court ordered process.”

The ruling notes that any interested party seriously intending to acquire or restructure Algoma has the continuing opportunity to reach out to the term lenders and consenting secured noteholders to propose and negotiate a transaction that they are willing to accept and support.

It's been almost two years since, Essar Steel Algoma filed for CCAA protection.

In Sault Ste. Marie alone, more than 120 businesses are owed more than $40 million from Essar Steel Algoma.

The Corporation of the City of Sault Ste. Marie is owed about $26 million in unpaid property taxes.

Lowest-ever steel prices, steel dumping, a decreased credit rating and issues with its iron ore pellet supply were the reasons the company cited for the need to file for the court protection.

Since the time of filing for CCAA, steel prices have rebounded, the iron ore pellet supply issue has been settled and the federal government is working on increasing its tariffs on dumped steel.

More than 20,000 Canadian jobs are being seriously threatened by the dumping of foreign steel.