By March 2017, ArcelorMittal was leading a consortium bidding for Ilva. An Italian company, Ilva owns the Taranto steelworks in southern Italy, which has Europe's largest steel output. The steelworks had been accused of toxic emissions linked to local cancer rates, and had been nationalized by the government years prior. The buyers were the AM Investco consortium, which beyond ArcelorMittal included Marcegaglia and Banca Intesa Sanpaolo. In May 2017, ArcelorMittal was announced as the preferred bidder over a different consortium led by JSW Steel, after it was able to pledge a production increase and guarantee employment levels. The final decision was waiting on Italy's ministry of economic development. On 5 June 2017, ArcelorMittal won approval to purchase Ilva for €1.8 billion. In its bid, AM Investco had pledged to make investments into Ilva of €2.4bn until 2023. On 1 November 2018, ArcelorMittal assumed ownership of Ilva steel operations and ArcelorMittal Italia was formed.