Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. (www.wpsc.com) has negotiated an arrangement that would combine the North American assets of Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) with Wheeling-Pittsburgh.
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. (www.wpsc.com) has negotiated an arrangement that would combine the North American assets of Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) with Wheeling-Pittsburgh. Under terms of the arrangement, CSN will contribute its independent 900,000 tons-per-year steel processing facility in Terre Haute, Ind., and make a cash investment of $225 million through financing that would be convertible into approximately 11.8 million shares of the new Wheeling-Pittsburgh within a three-year period. The arrangement provides exclusive distribution rights for CSN flat-rolled steel products in the United States and Canada, and a commitment to a long-term slab supply agreement.
Approximately $150 million of CSN's $225 million cash investment will be used for transformative capital improvements, including upgrading and expanding the capacity of Wheeling-Pittsburgh's hot strip mill to close to 4.0 million tons and the addition of a second, 350,000-ton galvanizing line at the Terre Haute facility. The remainder of the proceeds will be used to strengthen the company's liquidity position.