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Saturday, January 9, 2010
Today's News Headlines
* Cimpor board unanimously rejects CSN's "aggressive" hostile takeover attempt - Brazil
* Gerdau Ameristeel decides not to resume operations at Sand Springs, Oklahoma - Brazil
* London gold slips Fri while silver finishes five days of rises - Regional
* ISSF: Stainless output down 15% in January-September, shows recovery in Q3 - Regional
* ArcelorMittal Tubarão sells 1.92Mt in residues in 2009 - Brazil
* Strikes, commodity bullishness push copper price up - Cochilco - Chile
* IN BRIEF Govt bans exports of copper, phone cables - Regional
* IN BRIEF Molymet issues US$0.11/share dividend - Chile
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* Cimpor board unanimously rejects CSN's "aggressive" hostile takeover attempt - Brazil
The board of Portuguese cement maker Cimpor unanimously rejected the hostile takeover attempt made by Brazilian steelmaker CSN (NYSE: SID), Cimpor said in a statement.
"The administration considers the offer hostile because it is opportunistic, irrelevant and disturbing," Cimpor said.
According to a 64-page document drafted by the Cimpor board, there are four reasons for rejecting the 3.86bn-euro (US$5.5bn) offer.
The board said the proposal significantly undervalues Cimpor, CSN does not offer a premium to shareholders, Cimpor has a proven history of entrepreneurial success and is strongly committed to continuing its strategy of adding value to its shareholders and lastly, if the offer were to be accepted it would compromise Cimpor's future development.
A date for shareholders to vote has not been set yet. But according to Link brokerage steel market analyst Leonardo Alves, shareholders will likely follow the board's recommendation.
"Minority shareholders would not sell shares valued at 6.40 euros against the 5.35 euros offered by CSN," Alves told BNamericas.
CSN's chief executive and controlling shareholder Benjamin Steinbruch was quoted as saying on Friday by newswires that the company's offer was "aggressive" but it was open to discuss the bid with Cimpor shareholders.
CSN was offered French cement maker Lafarge's 17% stake in Cimpor and then decided to make a bid for the entire company, Steinbruch told a conference call.
Cimpor is one of the world's largest cement companies with production capacity of 35Mt/y. It has operations in Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Peru, China, India, Mozambique, South Africa, Cape Verde, Egypt and Morocco, among others.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Gerdau Ameristeel decides not to resume operations at Sand Springs, Oklahoma - Brazil
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau's (NYSE: GGB) Ameristeel subsidiary in Oklahoma has decided to continue the idling of its Sand Springs mill despite the efforts of local government authorities to resume production, Gerdau Ameristeel said in a statement.
"We appreciate the hard work of the city of Sand Springs, the state of Oklahoma, and the Sand Springs legislative delegation," said Terry Sutter, Gerdau Ameristeel's COO. "Unfortunately, due to a combination of ongoing weak market conditions, the company's need for a significantly more flexible workforce structure at the mill, and the significant capital investment required by the company, we have decided not to move forward."
Despite the steel mill's indefinite idling, Gerdau Ameristeel continues to maintain a strong presence throughout Oklahoma, where it employs more than 100 people at rebar fabrication locations, recycling plants and railway facilities in Sand Springs, Muskogee, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the company said.
Based in Tampa, Florida, Gerdau Ameristeel is the second largest mini-mill steel producer in North America, with capacity to manufacture 12Mt/y of mill finished steel products.
Porto Alegre-based Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel in the Americas.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* London gold slips Fri while silver finishes five days of rises - Regional
After four straight rises in the price of gold traded on the London Bullion Market (LBM) since the start of the year, the precious metal finally slipped, closing at US$1,127/oz Friday from US$1,130/oz the day before.
Gold closed out 2009 at US$1,088/oz on London and hit an all-time nominal high of US$1,213/oz on December 2.
As for silver, the metal did not let up on Friday, closing at US$18.12/oz in London to finish its fifth consecutive increase since the start of 2010.
Silver ended last year at a price of US$16.99/oz.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* ISSF: Stainless output down 15% in January-September, shows recovery in Q3 - Regional
Global crude stainless steel output fell by 15.0% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2009 to 17.9Mt, according to the latest figures from the Brussels-based International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).
However, production in the third quarter began to show a recovery, growing 12.5% to 7.06Mt as compared to Q308, ISSF said.
Stainless steel output in China grew 19.1% to 6.57Mt in the January-September period of last year, while the rest of Asia and all other world regions showed declines averaging 29.0%.
Output in the Americas sank 22.9% to 1.48Mt in the nine-month period, ISSF said.
Meanwhile in the third quarter, the Americas produced 18.6% more stainless steel year-on-year at 651,000t, while China's output was up 51.4% at 2.50Mt.
The Western Europe/Africa and Central/Eastern Europe regions saw output fall in Q3 by 8.1% and 15.6%, respectively, while production in Asia excluding China inched up 0.2%.
The ISSF is a non-profit organization founded in 1996. It is a division of the World Steel Association.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* ArcelorMittal Tubarão sells 1.92Mt in residues in 2009 - Brazil
Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal's (NYSE: MT) Tubarão unit in Brazil sold 1.92Mt of steel by-products in 2009 with revenues amounting to 107mn reais (US$61.5mn), the company said in a statement.
Blast furnace slag accounted for 30% of the total by volume. In 2010, Tubarão is expecting sales to reach 2.3Mt and is estimating revenues of 148mn reais.
The company says the electric power sector will be responsible for 49% of by-product revenues in 2010 followed by the cement and highway construction sector with 28%. Tubarão also sells by-products to the cryogenic gas sector, carbochemical and concrete manufacturers, railroads, makers of pre-molded products and ceramics, steelmills and the agricultural sector.
Located in Espírito Santo state, ArcelorMittal Tubarão generates 500,000t of residues for every 1Mt of steel produced.
"At Tubarão, slightly over 98% of residues are reused, well above the sector's average of 80%," the company said. "Currently, 5% of residues are reused for environmental purposes, 23% used internally and 70% are sold."
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Strikes, commodity bullishness push copper price up - Cochilco - Chile
The price of copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at US$3.377/lb cash Friday, 1.4% higher than the closing value of the previous week and near its highest since August 2008, driven by strikes and overall bullishness in global commodity markets, Chile's state copper commission Cochilco said in its weekly report.
Meanwhile global inventory levels gained another 4.5% in the week to total 699,600t, enough to supply more than two weeks of worldwide usage, Cochilco said.
The price rises were influenced by a 48-hour strike that started Monday (Jan 4) at Chilean state copper producer Codelco's Chuquicamata mine, the second largest red metal mine in the world.
And to boot, Xstrata (LSE: XTA) endured an eight-day strike at its Altonorte smelter, also in Chile.
"Despite the conclusion of both strikes, the situation in the market awoke fears of a greater impact on copper supply, which was shown by the increase in price to US$3.386/lb the year kicked off with," Cochilco said.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* IN BRIEF Govt bans exports of copper, phone cables - Regional
Guatemala's economy ministry has issued a decree prohibiting the export of copper and telephone cables, as well as fiber optic lines, with the goal of cutting down on theft, the presidential website reported.
At the same time, the export of other scrap such as steel, titanium, nickel, zinc, tin, magnesium and cobalt can only be done with a special license to be issued by the economy ministry's department of foreign trade administration.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* IN BRIEF Molymet issues US$0.11/share dividend - Chile
Chilean molybdenum processor Molymet reported it will pay a dividend in Chilean pesos equivalent to US$0.11/share to shareholders with stock as of January 8.
The company will pay the dividend on January 15.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
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In-deph interview
* "It's sad to say this but scrap collectors, who gather inputs for the steel industry, are being pushed aside"
José Arévalo Jr
President
Cofarja
Brazil
http://www.bnamericas.com/interviews/metals/Jose_Arevalo_Jr_,Cofarja,/169252676
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Main companies covered in today's news
* ArcelorMittal Brasil
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/ArcelorMittal_Brasil-ArcelorMittal_Brasil/169252676
* Xstrata PLC
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Xstrata_PLC-Xstrata/169252676
* Comisión Chilena del Cobre
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Comision_Chilena_del_Cobre-Cochilco/169252676
* Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Corporacion_Nacional_del_Cobre_de_Chile-Codelco/169252676
* C.V.G. Aluminio del Caroni S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/C,V,G,_Aluminio_del_Caroni_S,A,-Alcasa/169252676
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