Stainless steel manufacturer Aperam has announced joint venture agreement with steel companies Marcegaglia and Arvedi to bid for the Acciai Speciali Terni plant of Outokumpu in Italy. 

Under the joint venture deal, Aperam, which is based in Luxembourg, will be the major shareholder while both steel firms would each have minor shares.

Recently, Outokumpu has declared its plan to sell the Italy plant by May 7, 2013 in the hope for getting regulatory approval for its purchase of ThyssenKrupp's stainless steel maker Inoxum in 2012.

Steel manufacturing industry has been in trouble to cure overcapacity as construction and industrial production continue to suffer from debt crisis in Europe.