Steel Products
Reliance Steel & Aluminum to Acquire Metals USA Holdings
Written by John Packard
February 8, 2013
Reliance Steel & Aluminum announced Wednesday morning a definitive merger agreement whereby Reliance will acquire all outstanding shares of Metals USA Holdings Corporation for approximately $1.2 billion. This will make Reliance the largest service center chain in North America with assets over $6.5 billion and annual sales in excess of $10.0 billion.
The transaction is subject to approval by Metals USA stockholders along with other regulatory clearances and customary closing conditions and includes a 30-day “go-shop” period.
David Hannah, Chairman and CEO of Reliance, will continue as the Chairman and CEO of the combined company. Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President and CEO of Metals USA will retire upon the closing of the transaction which is expected during the second quarter 2013. The rest of the Metals USA management team will remain intact and continue to operate the company.
The addition of the Metals USA service centers will add 48 locations to the Reliance existing distribution network and are strategically located throughout the United States. Reliance plans to operate the Metals USA plants under its current brand names.
The acquisition will take the percentage of Reliance flat rolled business up a few percentage points, according to comments made by David Hannah, CEO of Reliance during a conference call with analysts announcing the acquisition. The expectation is for Reliance business mix to be approximately 15 percent flat rolled when Metals USA business is added to the group.
Combined, Reliance will encompass approximately 6-7 percent of the total service center market based on remarks made by Mr. Hannah.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products

Nucor increases plate prices by $40/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $40 per short ton (st) with the opening of its May order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the increase was effective with new orders received on Friday, March 28, in a letter to customers dated the same day. The company said the price hike applied […]

US CRC price gains ground over imports
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices increased again this week, while offshore prices declined.

SMU Steel Demand Index momentum slows
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. Contact info@steelmarketupdate.com for information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription. Growth in SMU’s Steel Demand Index eased in March after reaching a four-year high in late February. Despite a moderate gain, the index remains in expansion territory. The Steel Demand […]

Leibowitz: Impact of tariffs on US manufacturers
On February 10, President Trump announced a massive restructuring of tariffs on steel and aluminum. Those changes took effect on March 12, and they will impact US manufacturing. What will the impact be? Bye-bye exclusions Perhaps the most important change, which hits imports from all countries, is the loss of a product exclusion process to […]

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]