Economy
Australia's InfraBuild Looks to Buy Long Steel Assets in the US
June 2, 2023
Australian steelmaker InfraBuild said it could be on the hunt for steel plants in the US after closing on a $350-million asset-backed term loan.
The loan, managed by BlackRock and Silver Point Finance, will allow InfraBuild to pursue growth objectives, which include the “potential acquisition of steel assets in the United States currently owned by GFG Alliance,” the company said in a statement on May 29. GFG Alliance is InfraBulid’s parent company.
InfraBuild said possible targets include Keystone Consolidated Industries (KCI), which operates an EAF, rolling mill, and wire mill in Peoria, Ill. KCI also has wire mesh manufacturing sites in Ohio and New Mexico. Other targets are Johnstown Wire Technologies, with locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and Georgetown, a long steel mill in South Carolina.
InfraBuild said in a release in November 2022 that it could potentially buy businesses from GFG Alliance to create a vertically integrated EAF long steel producer with leading market positions in Australia and the US.
The company said it was Australia’s largest processor and distributor of steel long products, including reinforcing bar, reinforcing mesh, tubular and hollow sections, as well as merchant bar and wire products. It owns and operates recycling centers in Poland, the US, and Hong Kong. It also has scrap metal traders in India, South Africa, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK, as well as a manufacturing facility in Dalian, China, according to its website.
By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com
Latest in Economy
ISM: Manufacturing growth slows in July, hits 10-month low
US manufacturing activity slowed again in July to a 10-month low
CRU: Pushing EU imports back to 15% would be a big task
Several EU member states have published a ‘non-paper’ that puts forward proposals for a post-safeguard trade measure.
SMU Community Chat: Tariff-induced panic purchases, inflation, and calculating costs
Chief executive of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Tom Derry highlighted how reactive buying behavior has shifted the market into a quiet demand period. Derry presented ISM data during the weekly SMU community chat.
Architecture billings still sluggish despite project inquiry uptick
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI), a leading indicator for non-residential construction activity, declined for an eighth straight month in June.
Beige Book: Tariff pressures mount, flat outlook
All districts reported “experiencing modest to pronounced input cost pressures related to tariffs, especially for raw materials used in manufacturing and construction.”