Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs is buying ArcelorMittal’s U.S. operations — which include Indiana Harbor, southeast of Chicago, the largest integrated steelmaking facility in North America — for about $1.4 billion in cash and stock.
The transaction, announced Monday, also includes ArcelorMittal’s coke-making facility in Monessen along the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh that employs about 180 people.
The deal will make Cleveland-Cliffs the largest flat-rolled steel producer and largest iron ore pellet producer in North America.
In March, Cleveland-Cliffs completed the takeover of AK Steel, also based in Ohio, which operates the sprawling Butler Works north of Pittsburgh. Butler Works makes flat-rolled electrical and stainless steel.
The deal with ArcelorMittal involves 19 facilities in eight states.
Almost 3,800 people work at Indiana Harbor, which opened more than 100 years ago and is spread over more than 3,000 acres in East Chicago, Indiana, according to ArcelorMittal’s website. Burns Harbor, its second-largest facility, also employs about 3,800 people. ArcelorMittal’s headquarters are in Luxembourg, with its U.S. corporate offices in downtown Chicago.
Cleveland-Cliffs, based in Cleveland, said it expects to find about $150 million in cost savings. Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chairman, president and CEO, will lead the combined company.
The deal, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, requires regulatory approval and is expected to close before the end of the year.
Patricia Sabatini: PSabatini@post-gazette.com; 412-263-3066. Chicago Tribune contributed.
First Published: September 28, 2020, 7:57 p.m.
