The Stel Salaried Pensioners Organization wishes to
thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the following published in
the June 20, 2005 edition
The Hamilton
Spectator
(Jun 20, 2005)
Stelco
Inc will enter its fourth week of mediation talks today, with the key
stakeholders remaining under a heavy veil of secrecy.
The
firm, its union and bondholders are under court orders to refrain from speaking
publicly about how the talks are progressing. The mediation process is supposed
to determine how the company will restructure its operations once it emerges
from bankruptcy protection.
After
facing the prospect of a potential $350-million lawsuit from Georgian Windpower
Corp., Stelco shares dropped to penny stock level on June 10 and have been on a
volatile ride ever since.
Stakeholders
will return to court on June 27, when Ontario Superior Court Justice James
Farley will decide whether to permit Georgian Windpower to proceed with its
lawsuit. The windpower corporation has accused Stelco of pulling the plug on a
$1.4-million agreement to replace the coal fired generators at its Nanticoke
site with more efficient wind turbines.
Stelco
Inc. has been sheltered from any legal action since it gained bankruptcy
protection 16 months ago.
Since
then, the steel giant has struggled to come up with a plan to exit that
protection. While riding a wave of unprecedented profits in March -- largely
driven by voracious demand for steel in China -- Stelco turned away a number of
takeover bids, opting instead to devise its own solution by raising money on
the capital markets.
But
analysts have warned that as steel markets continue to soften the steelmaker's
ability to raise these funds will be less certain.
The
battered stock closed at $1.23 Friday, down 2 per cent.