Steel Mills

Cliffs clears antitrust step in $2.5B bid for Stelco

Written by Ethan Bernard

October 8, 2024

Cleveland-Cliffs has cleared a regulatory hurdle for its pending purchase of Canadian steelmaker Stelco Inc.

The waiting period for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) has expired for the deal.

“The expiration of the HSR Act waiting period clears an important regulatory hurdle and marks a significant step toward the closing of this acquisition,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The HSR Act requires that companies file premerger notifications with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department for certain acquisitions, according to the FTC website.

The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the deal is expected to close in Q4’24 following the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions and approvals.

“We are excited to secure this critical step in the process and move another step closer toward completing this transformative acquisition of Stelco,” Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO, said.

Recall that Cliffs announced plans to acquire Stelco for $2.5 billion in July. The deal has the support of the United Steelworkers (USW) union. Additionally, in September, Stelco shareholders voted to OK the transaction.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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