Steel Mills
Majestic Buys Merit to Expand West Coast Presence
Written by Michael Cowden
August 18, 2021
Majestic Steel USA has acquired West Coast service center Merit Steel USA in a push to expand its presence in the region.
The Cleveland-based service center said persistent supply chain constraints bolstered the case for growing its footprint west of the Rocky Mountains.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Merit has a strong reputation as a West Coast service center. This acquisition enhances our position in the Western region of the country and is a natural extension to our current business model,” Majestic Steel President and CEO Todd Leebow said in a statement.
Merit has locations in Pittsburg, Calif.; Fontana, Calif.; and Longview, Wash. – in other words, close to major West Coast flat-rolled steel suppliers.
USS-UPI LLC, the West Coast subsidiary of U.S. Steel, is based in Pittsburg. Slab converter California Steel Industries (CSI) is based in Fontana. And Longview is approximately 10 miles from the Kalama, Wash., operations of Steelscape – a subsidiary of Australian steelmaker BlueScope that makes metal coated and painted steel coils.
M&A expert Dan Sullivan – founder of Chicago-based Montrose Advisors – noted during an SMU Community Chat last month that private equity was more likely to acquire downstream manufacturing operations whereas service centers were more likely to acquire other service centers.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills
Nucor shuttering Chicago tubular facility
Nucor is closing its Nucor Tubular Products Chicago facility and will be laying off 47 workers.
Algoma foresees narrow profit (or loss) in fiscal Q2’25
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Algoma predicts that it will be roughly breakeven on an adjusted EBITDA basis in the second quarter of its fiscal year. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based company expects adjusted EBIDTA in a range from a gain of $5 million CAD ($3.7 million USD) to a loss of $5 million CAD in fiscal Q2'25.
Arbitration board sides with USS over USW on Nippon deal
A board of arbitration has ruled in favor of U.S Steel vs. the United Steelworkers (USW) union in a dispute regarding Nippon Steel’s more than $14-billion proposed deal for the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker.
USS first to get nod to sell ‘ResponsibleSteel’ items at Big River
U.S. Steel is the first steelmaker in the world qualified to sell its products as “ResponsibleSteel Certified Steel” at its Big River Steel operation in Osceola, Ark.
USS: No production impact from Midwest Plant fire
A transformer caught fire at U.S. Steel’s Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind., on Sunday.