Calcutta, June 25: Russian steel maker Severstal has just one more day to come back with a fresh bid for Esmark Inc or let the US company go to Essar.

In a statement, the US steel producer and distributor said it had given the United Steel Works union three more days to come up with a competing bid, after the official deadline ended on Monday.

Essar Steel Holdings is ready to pay $19 a share for Esmark, valuing the company at $1.2 billion, compared with Severstal’s offer of $17 a share. United Steel Works has been supporting the Severstal bid, while the Esmark management is backing Essar.

Both the union and the company had approached an independent arbitrator to settle the issue.

The arbitrator found the company did not give sufficient advance notice to the union on the deal with Essar.

While turning down all remedial measures sought by the union, the arbitrator also cancelled the memorandum of agreement signed with Essar on April 30.

However, Esmark CEO James Bouchard said the arbitrator had ruled that any union proposal would have to compete with Essar’s bid. The arbitrator had given United Steel Works 52 days to place a competing bid. The Esmark board decided to extend the period for three more days as a goodwill gesture.

The arbitrator also held that Esmark’s stockholder rights plan was not a violation of the collective bargain agreement between the US company and the union. Severstal had termed the plan as a “poison pill” to block its offer and favour Essar’s bid.

Indonesia move

The Essar group’s steel plant in Indonesia has commissioned a service centre at its cold rolling complex near Jakarta. Built at a cost of $15 million, the centre will have an annual capacity of 0.3 million tonnes.