It was reported that the French court in Strasbourg ruled that the Swiss specialty steel producer Schmolz + Bickenbach was selected to acquire the assets of the Belgian specialty steel producer Asco Industries in France with a bid which was more advantage than its rival, Liberty House.

Ascometal, a Belgium-based steelmaker that specialized in the production of specialty steel and employed around 1,300 people, filed for the bankruptcy protection to court last November; therefore, all requests for the acquisition of the company must be reviewed by the Strasbourg court.