STEEL manufacturer Corus last night denied reports that a delegation from a French company had toured its Teesside works with a view to buying the operation.
The rebuttal comes at a time when the Anglo-Dutch company is in financial crisis with looming debt problems and disharmony across the Channel.
Corus Group wants to sell off its aluminium operation to Pechiney in France for a reported £543m, but the Netherlands hierarchy is looking to block the move.
That would leave the group, formed from the merger of British Steel and Hoogovens in 1999, struggling to persuade banks to renew its £1.2bn loan to re-finance its debts.
A Corus spokesman last night said: "We have not had any French visitors on site today."
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