Tata Steel's arm here said it had got $130 million as final settlement from the consortium of global steel buyers which had prematurely terminated, in May 2009, a 10-year purchase contract.

The termination had plunged Tata's Teesside Cast Products (TCP) unit in northeast England [ Images ] into losses, leading to partial closure and layoffs at the factory. The matter went into arbitration, with Tata claiming a loss of $220 mn from the action.

The arbitration tribunal upheld the Tata claim that agreement was not validly terminated. On January 5, Tata Steel [ Get Quote ] UK received a partial final award in its favour.

Tata Steel, in a statement issued to the stock exchanges in India [ Images ], said, "Following that partial final award, a commercial settlement to all disputes relating to the offtake agreements was reached and on June 21, Tata Steel completed a full and final settlement of claims with the consortium of former offtakers. As a result of this settlement, Tata Steel has received an aggregate sum of approximately $130 million."

This final settlement comes four months after Tata Steel UK sold TCP to Sahaviriya Steel Industries, a Thai company, in a deal valuing the business at $469 mn.

The consortium of four buyers which had withdrawn from the 10-year buying contract were Marcegaglia of Italy [ Images ], Dongkuk of South Korea, the Swiss-headquartered Duferco and Alvory of Uruguay.