Steel Mills

CSN Bid for ThyssenKrupp Assets Not Yet Complete

March 23, 2013

According to SMU sources combined with an article written by Jose Manuel Saavedra & Ivo Ribeiro we have discovered that CSN has not yet made a firm proposal on the assets of ThyssenKrupp Steel Americas steel mills. The Brazilian article reported that CSN is requesting an extension of time in order to conclude their negotiations with the BNDES bank.

There are a number of issues which are clouding the bidding process – especially for the CSA slab mill located in Santa Cruz, Rio, Brazil. The CSA plant is operating under provisional license which allows the plant to operate up to 75 percent of capacity. The plant would need an environmental permit in order to operate at full capacity. The Brazilian article quoted the Secretary of Environment of Rio as saying the permits would not be granted for at least 4 months. The CSA plant has not completed the measures required in order to put an end to “Silver Rain” which is a cloud of dust particles of graphite.

This is only one of the issues surrounding the CSA plant.

Multiple sources have also advised SMU that CSN may be trying to get the BNDES bank to take their shares of stock in Usiminas off their hands as part of the deal. Without a loan from BNDES it is questionable if the company will be able to make an offer on the assets.

It is believed the Brazilian government wants the CSA mill to end up in the hands of a Brazilian company (CSN).

According to SMU sources compounding the CSN issue is the company has political issues with the state of Rio due to environmental issues at Volta Redonda that have not been rectified. This may make working with the state government a bit tricky since the CSA environmental issues continue to be a problem and would need to be addressed immediately by any new owner.

The rumor mill within the industry is reporting there is now one offer for the CSA slab mill in Brazil by Ternium but the offer is reported to be much less than what TK wants for the mill. “Unattractive” is how the offer is being postured within the industry. SMU is also reading news reports/speculation that ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel & Sumitomo have offered $2.0-$2.1 billion for the Calvert, Alabama mill. Other mills believed to be interested in the Calvert, Alabama facility include U.S. Steel, JFE out of Japan and Nucor.

CSN is believed to be the only company interested in making an offer on both assets. In the preliminary non-binding bidding process it was believed CSN bid $3.8 billion for both the CSA and Calvert, AL plants.