Posco, Asia’s third-largest steelmaker, agreed to buy a stake in ArcelorMittal Mines Canada Inc, Chung Jae Woong, a Seoul-based spokesman at Posco said.
The Korean steelmaker hasn’t decided on the amount of stake it will purchase or for how much, Chung said on Tuesday.
The Maeil Business Newspaper reported earlier on Tuesday Posco will buy a 15 per cent stake in the mine for $1.1 billion. Yonhap News reported a group, including Posco and China Steel Corp, will buy the stake for $1.1 billion. China Steel will invest $540 million, while Posco will spend $270 million, the Korean-language news agency said, citing people it didn’t identify.
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An e-mail to ArcelorMittal’s press office after hours wasn’t immediately answered. An e-mail to the company’s London- based spokesman, Giles Read, received an automated reply saying he was on leave till Thursday.
ArcelorMittal is considering selling about 30 per cent of its Canadian iron ore unit, a person familiar with the matter said October 19. ArcelorMittal is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Royal Bank of Canada, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the deliberations were private.
ArcelorMittal Mines Canada produces about 15 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate and a little more than nine million tonnes of iron oxide pellets annually, according to its website.
It operates two open pit mines and produces about 40 per cent of Canada’s iron ore output.
