Thyssenkrupp said in an emailed statement that the company is seeking to dispose of Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico, or CSA, adding it was a normal course of business to hold talks with potential buyers.
A spokeswoman for Ternium said in an emailed statement “Ternium has nothing to report at this time regarding recent rumors related to Thyssenkrupp’s sale of its Brazilian facility CSA.”
Ternium is a Luxembourg-based producer of flat and long steel products with a strong presence in Latin America.
CSA has an annual production capacity of 5 million tons. The plant swing to a €39 million operating profit in the third quarter of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, up from a €25 million loss in the same quarter last year.
Selling the Brazilian steel unit, Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico, or CSA, would help Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger’s effort to shift the company away from steel operations.
Steel prices in Europe have come under pressure in recent years, due to anemic steel demand growth and a sudden flood of steel shipments from China, where shrinking demand led to a glut in steel production. Large steel producers in Europe such as Thyssenkrupp, ArcelorMittal and Tata Steel Ltd have responded to the supply glut over the years by shutting loss-making production capacity, laying off thousands of workers and/or disposing assets.
The U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday voted to lock in duties on imports of welded stainless pressure pipe from India as it affirmed the goods were harming the U.S. industry.
The action finalizes provisional duties of up to 13.3 percent set by the Commerce Department after it found India was dumping the pipe in the United States at below market value and unfairly subsidizing the products. The pipe is used to transport fluids at high temperatures and pressures in the petrochemical, oil and gas and other industries.
The decision was in response to a complaint brought last year by Bristol Metals, a subsidiary of U.S. steel products maker Synalloy Corp; Outokumpu Stainless Pipe, a subsidiary of Finland's Outokumpu; Felker Brothers Corp; and Marcegaglia USA.
In 2015, imports of the products from India were valued at an estimated $33.1 million, according to the Commerce Department.
SOurce:Reuters.com