The Alternative Mechanism, which includes Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Steel Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, has endorsed Konoike Transport's highest bid of Rs 320 crore for the complete equity shareholding of MSTC Ltd in FSNL, along with the transfer of management control, according to a finance ministry statement.

This bid exceeds the government’s reserve price of Rs 262 crore, set following a valuation by the Transaction Adviser and Asset Valuer. Among the two bids, Konoike Transport Co. Ltd's offer was the highest and surpassed the reserve price. The other bid was submitted by Indic Geo Resources Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Chandan Steel Ltd.

Konoike Transport Co Ltd is a diversified Japanese corporation listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Its Steel Division boasts over 140 years of experience in steelworks operations, offering a wide range of services from raw material acceptance to manufacturing processes, slag treatment, scrap processing, examination, packaging, and delivery of steel products, thus supporting customer operations.

The division also participates in recycling projects, including a perfect recycling system that reprocesses industrial waste without generating secondary waste.

Founded on March 28, 1979, FSNL focuses on providing steel mill services and specializes in recovering and processing scrap from slag produced during iron and steel production at various steel plants.