Nippon Steel (NSSMC), a major shareholder at Brazil flats producer Usiminas, has contested recent claims by competitor and minor shareholder Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), which said inter-company contracts involving Nippon Steel and Usiminas reached up to BRL 20 billion.
According to an open letter published by CSN at financial newspaper Valor in late June, inter-company contracts between Nippon Steel and Usiminas rose from BRL 2 billion to BRL 20 billion, following the arrival of co-controlling shareholder Ternium.
“Firstly, those numbers don’t make any sense, since Usiminas’ consolidated revenues in 2014 reached about BRL 11 billion,” Nippon said. “And most importantly, after Ternium’s arrival [as a major shareholder] at Usiminas just one contract was celebrated between Usiminas and NSSMC,” the Japanese-based company said.
Nippon argued that CSN “invented” those numbers by probably adding up all contracts signed prior to 2012 between Usiminas and NSSMC and between Usiminas and NSSMC’s independent companies.
Nippon Steel is accusing CSN of damaging Usiminas’ financial situation to improve their own.
Meanwhile discussions and legal fights between Ternium and Nippon, as well as between Usiminas and CSN continue, the president of Usiminas’ administration’s council, Elias Brito, opposed Nippon’s move to take Sergio Leite out from the CEO seat through legal appeals.