PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) announced today it closed its acquisition of the remaining equity of Big River Steel for approximately $774 million from cash on hand. The transaction met customary closing conditions, including antitrust approval from the United States Department of Justice.
“We are creating the first ‘Best of Both’ integrated and mini mill steel company. Taking a page from the Big River Steel playbook, we are closing on this world competitive green steel asset purchase under budget and ahead of schedule,” said U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David Burritt. “Our customers now have access to a truly sustainable source of the most advanced high strength steels. Our customer-centric organization will provide customers, employees, communities and investors with the world competitive advantages from the most advanced process technology and the intellectual capital necessary to produce the most advanced products.”
“The innovative and entrepreneurial collaboration we are already seeing has us even more enthused about the potential for our people and our ‘Best of Both’ company. This is not an either/or initiative where you compromise the competitive advantage of one versus the other. Instead, we are dedicated to encouraging and sharing the best attributes of both, to the benefit of our customers. We fully expect to generate profitable growth quickly in 2021 and enable a more nimble, innovative, and cost-effective company across the business cycle.”
U. S. Steel’s management team will provide additional detail on the Big River Steel acquisition during the company’s fourth quarter 2020 earnings conference call scheduled on January 29, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. EST. The call will be available via the U. S. Steel website. To access the webcast, visit the website at www.ussteel.com and click “Investors.” Replays of the conference call will be available on the website after 10:30 a.m. EST on January 29, 2021.
Barclays served as exclusive M&A financial advisor, while PJT Partners and Rothschild & Co. served as financing advisors to U. S. Steel on the acquisition, and Milbank LLP provided legal counsel.
Big River Steel is a LEED-certified Flex Mill™ in northeast Arkansas that is believed to be the newest and most advanced flat rolled mill in North America. Big River Steel’s advanced manufacturing technology and skilled operators combined with U. S. Steel’s product development capabilities and intellectual property have allowed Big River Steel to produce 14 advanced U. S. Steel grades, including substrate for its XG3™ grade of Generation 3 advanced high-strength steel (AHSS). Big River Steel offers high-quality products and services to discerning customers in the automotive, energy, construction, and agricultural industries. Big River Steel’s Phase II-A expansion doubled the mill’s hot-rolled steel production capacity to 3.3 million tons annually, establishing it as one of the largest electric arc furnace-oriented flat-rolled mills in North America. The Phase II-A expansion was completed in November 2020, ahead of schedule and below budget.
Founded in 1901, the United States Steel Corporation is a Fortune 250 company and a leading steel producer. Together with its subsidiary Big River Steel and an unwavering focus on safety, the company’s customer-centric “Best of Both” world-competitive integrated and mini mill technology strategy is advancing a more secure, sustainable future for U. S. Steel and its stakeholders. With a renewed emphasis on innovation, U. S. Steel serves the automotive, construction, appliance, energy, containers and packaging industries with high value-added steel products such as U. S. Steel’s proprietary XG3™ advanced high- strength steel. The company also maintains competitively advantaged iron ore production and has an annual raw steelmaking capability of 26.2 million net tons. U. S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with world-class operations across the United States and in Central Europe. For more information, please visit www.ussteel.com.
