Australian steelmaker BlueScope said it received an unsolicited, non-binding and indicative proposal on 12 December 2025 from an Australian-US consortium to acquire all its shares via a scheme of arrangement at AUD 30.00 (USD 20) per share. The consortium comprises SGH Limited and US-based Steel Dynamics. Under the proposal, SGH would acquire BlueScope and subsequently on-sell its North American businesses to Steel Dynamics.
The proposal is subject to multiple conditions, including exclusivity, due diligence, no material adverse change, unanimous board support, shareholder approval, no further share buybacks, final approvals from consortium boards, regulatory clearances, and highly conditional debt funding.
BlueScope’s board said it is evaluating the proposal against the company’s fundamental value, citing its resilient earnings from high-quality assets, expected cash flow uplift as capital projects conclude, AUD 2.3 bln (USD 1.53 bln) of investments targeting AUD 500 mln (USD 334.2 mln) in additional annual earnings by 2030, and the latent value of its 1,200-hectare land portfolio currently being rezoned and monetized.
The board also noted it had previously unanimously rejected three unsolicited approaches. In late 2024, a Steel Dynamics-led consortium offered AUD 27.50 (USD 18.3) and then AUD 29.00 (USD 19.3) per share. In early 2025, Steel Dynamics proposed a structure valuing BlueScope’s North American assets at AUD 24.00 (USD 16) per share with a distribution of non-North American assets to shareholders. BlueScope said these offers materially undervalued the company and carried significant execution and regulatory risks.
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.
1 USD / 1.49 AUD
