Brazilian flats producer Usiminas is looking for a long-term slab contract with ThyssenKrupp-owned Companhia Siderurgica do Atlantico (CSA), so CSA could supply the product to Usiminas’ Cubatao mill located in the city of same name in the state of Sao Paulo.
According to Usiminas’ CEO, Sergio Leite, who attended Brazil’s Steel Congress, held in Sao Paulo from June 8-9, the flats steelmaker is currently “negotiating” the purchase of the product from CSA, after having purchased some slab from the same company earlier this year and following a cut in production at the Cubatao mill to reduce costs in a scenario of sluggish domestic demand.
Leite said the Cubatao mill could restart steel output at some point within the next five years, but in order to do so Usiminas should have to commit itself to more investments.
Leite also discarded the idea the company could file for bankruptcy protection and denied claims the company’s assets could be split between fighting shareholders Ternium Techint and Nippon Steel.
Additionally, the recently-appointed CEO said a BRL 1 billion capital injection should be completed within the next 30 days.
On Thursday Ternium announced, in connection with the previously-announced issuance of 200 million ordinary shares of Usiminas, “that all entities within the T/T Group (including Ternium, Siderar and its wholly-owned subsidiary Prosid) have exercised their rights to subscribe to their corresponding portion of the shares left unsubscribed in the initial subscription round.”
As a result, Ternium and its subsidiaries Siderar and Prosid subscribed to a further 27.8 million ordinary shares for a total amount of BRL 139.1 million, while also indicating their “willingness to subscribe to ordinary shares that remain unsubscribed following the completion of this second subscription round (if any).”
Considering all ordinary shares subscribed by Ternium and its subsidiaries Siderar and Prosid, the T/T group has subscribed to a total 61.5 million ordinary shares for a total amount of BRL 307.3 million, it said.