ArcelorMittal and Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. are planning a joint bid to buy ThyssenKrupp AG’s Steel Americas unit to ramp up automotive steel sheet production.
Earlier this month, ArcelorMittal reportedly submitted a US$1.5 billion bid for ThyssenKrupp’s carbon steel plant in Calvert, while Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA reportedly made a US$3.8 billion bid for both the plant and a majority stake in ThyssenKrupp’s Brazilian mill.
Nucor Corp. also is reportedly in the running for the Calvert facility, bidding US$1.5 billion for it.
Germany’s biggest steelmaker, ThyssenKrupp produces steel slabs in Brazil that it ships to Alabama for finishing in Calvert. The company has recorded losses of more than US$15.7 billion for the plants.
Though ThyssenKrupp has invested about US$15 billion in the mills, ThyssenKrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger said that he wants to sell the two separately for at least the book value of about US$9 billion.
Final bids are due in mid-February and ThyssenKrupp said it plans to pick a buyer by September.