Service Centers

Russel’s buy of Samuel locations faces regulatory hurdle

April 17, 2024

Russel Metals Inc.’s planned purchase of seven service centers from Samuel, Son & Co. has been delayed.

When the Toronto-based service center announced the CAD$225 million (USD$165.5 million) sale in December, it said the transaction was expected to close in Q1’24 or Q2’24. The purchase includes operations in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Calgary and Nisku, Alberta; Langley and Surrey, British Columbia, in Canada; and facilities in Buffalo, N.Y., and Pittsburgh in the US.

However, Canada’s Competition Bureau is now looking into the transaction as it “has concerns related to a narrow segment of product in a specific geography,” Russel said this week.

As such, the closing is not expected to close by the end of the current quarter. A new expected closing date was not provided.

“Russel Metals and Samuel continue to engage constructively with the Competition Bureau in an effort to bring this matter to a resolution,” Russel said.

Oakville, Ontario-based Samuel did not respond to a request for comment.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency of the Canadian government meant to promote and protect competition for the benefit of Canadians. It has the authority to review any merger to determine if it stifles competition in the Canadian marketplace.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. Since 2007, she has held various editorial and marketing positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills. In 2021, after a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel trade journalism, joining SMU in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.