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ArcelorMittal
0RP9,
said Thursday that it has agreed to buy a majority stake in peer Voestalpine AG’s hot briquetted iron plant in Texas in the U.S., in a deal that values the operations at $1 billion.
The steel maker will take an 80% stake in the plant at Corpus Christi, which has an annual capacity of two million metric tons of HBI. The product is a high-quality feedstock made through the direct reduction of iron ore, used to produce high-quality steel grades in an electric arc furnace, but which can also be used in blast furnaces, resulting in lower coke consumption, ArcelorMittal said.
As part of the transaction, the company has also agreed to supply Austria’s Voestalpine with an annual volume of HBI in line with the latter’s equity stakes in steel mills at Donawitz and Linz in Austria. Voestalpine will retain the remaining 20% stake in the plant.
The remaining balance of production will be delivered to third parties under existing supply contracts and to ArcelorMittal’s own facilities, the company said.
The stake acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals, ArcelorMittal added.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
