BlueScope Steel has responded to a revised takeover proposal from a consortium comprising SGH Limited and Steel Dynamics, reiterating that the offer does not sufficiently reflect the company’s value, according to the latest stock exchange filing.
SGH-Steel Dynamics consortium submitted a revised offer for BlueScope that values its equity at roughly USD 11 bln. Under the structure outlined, SGH would acquire BlueScope and subsequently on-sell the company’s North American operations to Steel Dynamics.
BlueScope’s board said the offer price and terms remain insufficient to recommend a scheme of arrangement to shareholders, noting that the proposal does not adequately address valuation concerns, especially around the future of the company’s North American assets. The board also raised issues with certain conditions attached to the offer, such as exclusivity requirements and the lack of binding financing commitments.
Despite rejecting the revised bid as undervalued, BlueScope said it remains open to further engagement with the consortium if key valuation and funding issues can be satisfactorily addressed, the filing said.
This latest proposal follows prior unsolicited approaches from the same consortium earlier this year, all of which were unanimously rejected by the BlueScope board on similar grounds of valuation and strategic fit.
BlueScope operates as a flat steel producer catering to domestic Australian, New Zealand, and US markets, has an annual production capacity of around 3 mln tons of crude steel. The company specializes in manufacturing slab, HRC, plate, and coated steel products.
