US Steel closes proposals for the purchase of the business

There are now several bidders to buy a share or all of US Steel. This is indicated by reports in the financial press, according to Recycling Today. At the same time, the company announced that it would cease steel production at its Granite City Works plant.

For months, the most open bidder was another US blast furnace steel producer, Cleveland-Cliffs. Although this company’s initial bid was rejected by US Steel management, but was supported by the United Steelworkers union.

Another potential bid from Pennsylvania-based Esmark was announced and withdrawn in August of this year. In late August, US Steel’s board said it was beginning the process of considering strategic alternatives to an undisclosed number of expressions of interest. A few weeks later, it was reported that US Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs had agreed to confidentiality terms acceptable to both companies.

In subsequent unconfirmed reports, ArcelorMittal and Canadian Stelco Holdings (the latter was once a subsidiary of US Steel) were named among the potential buyers.

Seeking Alpha portal with reference to CNBC reported that the final offers to US Steel should be submitted on December 1. It is also said that the offer may be made by the Argentine unit of Techint to Luxembourg’s Ternium, but most likely with a partner.

At the same time, US Steel announced that it is indefinitely halting steel production at Granite City Works in Illinois, US KSDK reported. This comes two months after the steelmaker temporarily halted blast furnace B, at the facility, calling it «risk mitigation» in response to a strike by the United Autoworkers.

The company has sent approximately 1,000 employees WARN notices that they may be laid off. It is expected that about 60% of these employees will likely lose their jobs.

US Steel has also floated the idea of selling the Granite City Works facility to SunCoke Energy. However, United Steelworkers local president Dan Simmons noted that the union has the right to veto the deal.

US Steel senior vice president and chief operating officer Scott Bakiso said in a related email that the company could meet customer demand with other steel assets. The Illinois facility’s rolling and finishing lines will continue to operate using slabs from other facilities.

As GMK Center reported earlier, US Steel has secured further funding for its decarbonization plans in Slovakia, moving closer to a decision to convert the Kosice mill’s blast furnace shop to electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.