ArcelorMittal spent $1.6 billion (Rs 11,360 crore) to acquire Essar Steel India Ltd in partnership with Nippon Steel, the company disclosed on Thursday.

Announcing the fourth-quarter and full-year results, the Luxembourg-based company said it made an equity contribution of $1.6 billion to the 60:40 ArcelorMittal-Nippon Steel joint venture in India that took over Essar Steel after an arduous bankruptcy process.

This deal was funded by two-thirds debt and one-third equity. The $1.6-billion contribution by ArcelorMittal represents 60 per cent of the equity portion.

The company reported a $2.5-billion net loss in 2019, which chairman and CEO Lakshi Niwas Mittal described as a “very tough year”, reflecting “significantly reduced profitability”. ArcelorMittal had made a net profit of $5.1 billion in 2018. In the fourth quarter, it reported a loss of $1.8 billion.

Describing the Essar acquisition as “undoubtedly the biggest achievement in 2019”, the company still managed to reduce net debt to $9.3 billion, the lowest since the merger of Arcelor with Mittal Steel, and maintained the target of $7-billion net debt by the end of 2020.

It also informed that Essar’s Hazira plant was performing well as it was cash flow positive already. Going by the performance in January, it may end up with $600 million of EBITDA and 7.4 million tonnes of production.

ArcelorMittal also informed analysts that its India JV with Nippon will reinvest cash to finance turnaround and growth plans.