Steel tycoon Gupta secures deal to keep grip on prized InfraBuild asset

The steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has struck an eleventh-hour deal to keep control of a prized Australian asset after a long-running legal tussle.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Gupta's main corporate entity, GFG Alliance, has agreed a settlement with Grant Thornton UK, the administrators to Greensill Capital, the supply chain finance group which collapsed amid a political firestorm in 2021.

Sources said the peace deal would be announced publicly on Tuesday, hours before a court case was due to begin in Australia.

Precise details of the agreement were unclear on Monday evening, but insiders said GFG would remain "in control" of InfraBuild, a profitable Australian steel producer.

Grant Thornton had argued for years that Greensill's creditors had rights over shares in InfraBuild.

Greensill's collapse after the Covid pandemic's initial phase engulfed the government in scandal after it emerged that former prime minister David Cameron had lobbied government on behalf of the company.

Lex Greensill, the finance company's founder, has been barred from serving as a UK company director for nine years.

The Australian Financial Review reported in September that the court case over InfraBuild had been adjourned after Mr Gupta claimed that proceeding at the time would be detrimental to his health.

In a statement issued in response to an enquiry from Sky News, a spokesman for Mr Gupta said GFG Alliance and the joint administrators "agreed confidential terms, subject to final legal contracts, to resolve the disputes and claims between them relating to the long-running dispute concerning security over shares in InfraBuild".

The outcome represents a rare legal victory for Mr Gupta, whose status as a major player in Britain's steel industry effectively ended last year when Liberty Steel's speciality arm was declared insolvent.

The government recently announced it would explore full public ownership of the Speciality Steels UK business, which employs more than 1,000 people.

In its statement on Monday, the GFG Alliance spokesman added that it and Grant Thornton were "undertaking further steps to give effect to the agreement and the resolution of the proceedings".

"The parties will make a further statement once the matter is finally resolved," they said.

Mr Gupta, who chairs both GFG Alliance and InfraBuild, said: "This agreement draws a line under a lengthy dispute and is a positive outcome for InfraBuild, giving the business, its employees and its customers certainty and a strong platform to build on as we continue to invest in the growth of the business."

Grant Thornton declined to comment when contacted by Sky News.

One source said the settlement would entail GFG Alliance appointing a slate of independent directors to InfraBuild's board.

Mr Gupta will continue as the Australian company's executive chairman, they added, with its priority being to complete a substantial refinancing.

(c) Sky News 2026: Steel tycoon Gupta secures deal to keep grip on prized InfraBuild asset