Gupta’s business empire sued by rival Tata over £100m steel deal
Sanjeev Gupta’s business empire is reportedly being sued by rival Tata over a £100m deal that made him one of Britain’s biggest steel magnates.
Tata has filed a commercial court claim against Gupta’s GFG Alliance — parent company of Liberty Steel — over alleged mispayments, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The case is said to relate to Liberty’s 2017 takeover of Tata’s Rotheram-based speciality steel division.
It comes as Gupta battles to save his business from collapse following the demise of Greensill Capital, its main financial partner.
The tycoon was hailed as a white knight following his takeover of Tata’s steel operations for £100m, saving more than 1,000 jobs in Rotheram.
The cash sum of the deal is thought to have been reduced by about a quarter through several arrangements including deferred payments, according to the report.
But Tata has now launched proceedings against Liberty Speciality Steels, Liberty House Group PTE and Speciality Steel UK over unpaid debts.
A spokesman for Tata said: “As this is now an active case we cannot comment.” GFG declined to comment.
The lawsuit will come as a further blow to embattled Gupta, who is scrambling to find new financial backing to save his empire.
The government last month turned down a request for a £170m taxpayer-backed rescue of Liberty due to concerns about whether the money would remain in the UK.
Credit Suisse, which was a major investor in Greensill, has already launched court proceedings against several GFG companies to protect against potential losses.