In a launch Monday, the storied Hamilton, Ont.-based steelmaker mentioned it agreed to promote all issued and excellent widespread shares for $70 per share to Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs, certainly one of North America’s largest metal producers.
“I do know that Cliffs will proceed to construct upon the wonderful work and life setting we have now created for all of our workers, and proceed to be a dependable provider to our valued prospects, whereas sustaining Stelco’s stature and repute in Canada and sustaining our Canadian nationwide pursuits,” mentioned Stelco chief govt Alan Kestenbaum.
As a part of the settlement, Stelco’s headquarters will keep in Hamilton and the corporate will keep “important employment ranges” in Canada and embody Canadians in its administration group.
Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves mentioned Kestenbaum had managed to show an “underperforming asset below earlier possession into a really cost-efficient and profit-oriented firm.”
The deal is anticipated to shut within the fourth quarter of 2024.
Stelco’s possession historical past
This won’t be the primary time Stelco has come below overseas possession. U.S. Metal acquired the 114-year-old firm in 2007, proper earlier than the worldwide monetary disaster set off a recession. In 2014, America’s second-largest steelmaker put its Canadian operations into creditor safety.
Kestenbaum took the reins in 2017 (except for a one-year departure round 2019), upgraded Stelco’s blast furnaces and, by way of acquisitions, steered the corporate towards extra metal output for automakers.
United Steelworkers worldwide president David McCall supported the sale to Cleveland-Cliffs, calling it “nice for the resilience of producing and union jobs” in North America.