Ukrainians Buy a Share in U.S. Steel Mill
The Donbass Industrial Union has acquired a quarter share in the American steel mill Sparrows Point. That deal will allow DIU to raise its capitalization by at least $600 million and claim a 35-percent share in the united company being formed with Gazmetall. That may still not satisfy the company, however, and it may refuse to merge with the Russian company, which is controlled by Alisher Usmanov, Vasily Anisimov and Andrey Skoch.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the Donbass Industrial Union has joined the E2 Acquisition Corp. consortium, to which Arcelor Mittal had agreed to sell the Sparrows Point steel mill, located near Baltimore on a site with access to a seaport. That deal, the American newspaper said, is worth $1.35 billion. The four partners in the consortium – DIU, Esmark Inc., Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. and Cia. Vale do Rio Doce – have equal shares in it. Sparrows Point produces up to 3.9 million tons of steel per year, including 500,000 tons of coated steel used to produce aerosol cans. Industry analysts say that the plant's proceeds may reach $1 billion.
DIU will integrate Sparrows Point financial results into its own to raise its capitalization. Among the other assets it owns or controls are Alchevsky metals and coking plants, the Dzerzhinksy Dneprovsky metals plant, as well as the Dunaferr plant in Hungary and Huta Stali Czestochowa in Poland. While no details have been made public from the negotiations between Gazmetall and DIU, analysts say that DIU cannot hope for a share of more than 25-30 percent in the united company. At DIU, however, they have made clear their desire for a parity merger and expressed their readiness to take action to achieve that.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 06, 2007
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