Japan: Nippon Steel to acquire two Thai EAF steel mills with total capacity of 3 mn t

Japanese steel major Nippon Steel Corp. has confirmed plans to acquire two Thai electric furnace companies in 2022, as per latest reports. The companies to be acquired are G Steel and GJ Steel.

The combined annual production capacity of the two companies' hot-rolled steel sheets stands at over 3 mn t, which is considered to be larger than Japan's largest independent electric arc furnace steelmaker Tokyo Steel, with an annual production capacity of 2.5 mn t.

The company mainly produces general-purpose steel and hot-rolled steel plates used as building materials.

$880 million deal

Judging from sales figures achieved in CY'20, the value of G Steel's total sales was pegged at over $612 million, while GJ Steel recorded sales of $337 million.

According to reports, the funds under the US Ruisheng Investment hold nearly 50% and 40% of the shares of the two companies, respectively, and the two parties have generally reached an agreement to acquire all the shares held by the fund.

In addition, Nippon Steel is also striving to acquire shares of the two companies from other shareholders, and the purchase amount may reach JPY 100 billion (approximately $880 million).

The world's fifth-largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel's crude steel output stood at 41.58 million tonnes (mn t) in 2020, as per WSA data.