AHMSA Sales Plan Moves Forward

Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is proceeding with a plan that would see the company sold to a group of investors, according to a filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange.

ahmsa logo Under terms of that deal, the Mexican steelmaker is expected to receive an initial infusion of $200 million to pay for working capital and labor obligations.

AHMSA makes hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, plate, tinplate, and structural shapes.

Recall that production and financial issues at the company contributed to a sheet supply squeeze in the first quarter that sent US hot-rolled coil prices soaring from $685 per ton ($34.25 per cwt) at the beginning of the year to $1,155 per ton in our last check of the market.

Some market participants have said that the supply squeeze could reverse should AHMSA resume operations, as new US capacity ramps up, and following US Steel’s decision to restart two previously idled furnaces.

By Michael Cowden, michael@steelmarketupdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.