Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Beta Steel of Portage, Ind., for $400 million. Beta Steel operates an 800,000 tons/year EAF-based meltshop and a 1.2 million tons/year hot-strip rolling mill. In fiscal year 2007, the company’s sales volume reached 602,000 tons and revenues were $324 million. Beta Steel, an independent steel producer specializing in hot-rolled flat steel, currently sells over 35% of its total output to pipe and tube producers.

NLMK acquired Beta to secure additional upstream integration with the assets of recently acquired John Maneely Co. (JMC). Beta supplies pipe HRC to JMC’s Atlas division. NLMK said that it plans to increase Beta’s HRC output by debottlenecking the existing operations and by supplying its own slabs for re-rolling.