Steel Mills

JSW Completes Acquisition of Acero Junction

June 19, 2018

India’s JSW Steel announced last week it has completed the acquisition of 83 percent of Acero Junction Holdings. The remaining 17 percent is being transferred and will give JSW 100 percent ownership of the steel rolling mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio.

The assets are valued at $182.41 million with an equity value of $80.84 million and liabilities of $101.56 million.

The facility includes an electric arc furnace, ladle metallurgy furnace and continuous slab caster. The 80-inch hot strip mill has a capacity to produce three million tons of hot rolled coils per year.

In May, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio granted a request from Acero that will allow the company to receive $26.2 million in electricity discounts from American Electric Power over the next six years. The agreement is contingent upon the hiring of a minimum of 270 workers at salaries of at least $81,481 per year. In addition, a minimum investment of $60 million must be made to the facilities within one year of resuming steel production.

Mingo Junction has changed hands several times since its EAF was installed in 2004 under Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The ownership moved to Esmark in 2007, OAO Severstal in 2008, and to RG Steel in 2011. The steel facility has been idle since 2009. Frontier Group purchased the Mingo Junction assets from bankrupt RG Steel in 2012 for $20 million.

Previously, Acero Junction imported steel slabs for production, but the recent 25 percent tariffs would increase operating costs. Steven Guzy, General Manager of Acero Junction, told The Intelligencer that running the EAF would allow the company to substitute American steel for foreign steel.