Further to the announcement issued by Corus earlier this week, Corus, Marcegaglia SpA and Dongkuk Steel Mill Co Ltd have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to Marcegaglia and Dongkuk jointly acquiring a majority stake in Corus’ Teesside Cast Products business (TCP).
Marcegaglia would have the largest equity interest, while Corus would retain a minority holding.
Both Marcegaglia and Dongkuk are part of the four-member Consortium that has a slab Offtake Agreement with Corus. The other Consortium members, Alvory SA (a subsidiary of Ternium SA) and Duferco Participations Holding Ltd (through Steel Invest Finance (Luxembourg) SA), have confirmed they will continue as Offtakers in a revised arrangement after the change in ownership.
Marcegaglia and Dongkuk will now undertake due diligence with a view to finalising the terms of an acquisition agreement as soon as possible.
Phil Dryden, Divisional Director Corus Long Products, said: “The proposed change of ownership fits the business plans of all participants and will significantly improve prospects for the further long-term development of steelmaking on Teesside.”
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For further information on Corus please call Bob Jones, Tel: +44 (0)207 717 4532
Notes
Corus is Europe's second largest steel producer with annual revenues of more than £12 billion and crude steel production of about 20 million tonnes. With main steelmaking operations primarily in the UK and the Netherlands, Corus supplies steel and related services to the construction, automotive, packaging, mechanical engineering and other markets worldwide. Corus is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one of the world’s top ten steel producers. Following the acquisition of Corus in 2007, the combined enterprise has an aggregate crude steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and approximately 82,700 employees across four continent