Kremikovtzi owner says in no rush to sell

By Tsvetelia Ilieva

SOFIA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The majority owner of Bulgaria's largest steelmaker, Kremikovtzi KMKV.BB, Pramod Mittal, said on Friday he was not in a hurry to sell the loss-making mill and would consult a financial adviser first.

Mittal's India's Global Steel Holdings Ltd (GSHL), which holds a majority stake in Kremikovtzi, has said it was in talks with several foreign investors to sell its stake.

U.S. Steel Corp. (X.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and two Ukrainian billionaires, Kostyantin Zhevago and Rinat Akhmetov, have been interested in buying Kremikovtzi, plant officials have said this week.

"We have no commitment to any person or investor of selling the stake of GSHL in Kremikovtzi," Mittal, in Sofia this week, told a news conference.

The government, which holds a 25 percent stake in the plant, has urged Mittal and potential investors to provide guarantees that the mill, one of Bulgaria's largest industrial plants, would not close.

Kremikovtzi is important for the economy, providing 10 percent of exports and 100,000 jobs.

Mittal, the younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, denied reports that he was close to a deal with Zhevago.

"This message about the Ukrainian that we are close to business is not correct. We had dialogue but nothing was concluded. Nothing is there on the ground," he added.