Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp. announced Tuesday it has acquired the remaining equity of Big River Steel for about $774 million in cash, completing its “best of both” strategy to combine its traditional integrated steel technology with Big River Steel’s efficient mini mill production process.
The steel giant initially acquired 49.9% ownership of Big River Steel on Oct. 31, 2019. It’s expected to close on this latest transaction in the first quarter of 2021.
U.S. Steel operates three facilities in Northwest Indiana: Gary Works, East Chicago Tin and its Midwest Plant in Portage.
“For months, I’ve said that we can’t get to the future fast enough. Today, I can say the future is now,” David B. Burritt, president and chief executive officer of U.S. Steel, said in a news release. “With Big River Steel, we can offer customers the high performance, innovative steel products they expect from U.S. Steel’s scientists and application engineers made through a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable and efficient mini mill process,” Burritt said.
Big River Steel operates a LEED-certified flex mill in northeast Arkansas that U.S. Steel officials said is believed to be the newest and most advanced flat-rolled mill in North America.
“Being an entrepreneurial disrupter is in our DNA and I’m excited about the possibilities we have already demonstrated by leveraging U.S. Steel’s industry-leading research and development capabilities,” Big River Steel CEO David Stickler said in a news release.
According to U.S. Steel, benefits of the acquisition include creating a more competitive and customer-centric organization with an expanded footprint to serve the growing southern U.S. and Mexico automotive end-markets, aiding in its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its global footprint by 20% and increasing Big River Steel’s steel recycling.
According to U.S. Steel, the two companies together have already produced 11 advanced steel grades.
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