The Stel Salaried Pensioners Organization wishes to
thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the following article,
published in the March 18, 2006 edition
The Associated Press
(Mar 18, 2006)
Silence over Stelco structure
Final documents setting up Stelco's new structure were to
have been signed yesterday -- but the company has gone silent on its progress.
"A huge amount of work has been done and continues to
be done," company president Courtney Pratt said yesterday. "Beyond
that we have no definitive statement on where things stand, that's for the
monitor to make."
Stelco's court-appointed monitor is to report to Justice
James Farley next week on progress toward the final settlement of the company's
26-month journey through restructuring. Stelco's current court-ordered
protection from creditors expires March 31.
In a court appearance March 2, lawyers for the company and
its battling stakeholders promised to have signed documents creating the new
company and a progress report for Farley by St. Patrick's Day. At the time,
Stelco lawyer Michael Barrack said all that was needed was time to complete the
technical work of drafting loan, credit and pension agreements.
The new Stelco is to be a structure of nine separate
companies.
Stelco filed for creditor protection Jan. 29, 2004, citing
mounting losses and the crippling cost of covering its $1.3-billion pension
deficit. The restructuring agreements provide it with a plan to settle the
deficit over 10 years and money for capital upgrades.
The Hamilton Spectator
Mittal says Arcelor offer final
BRUSSELS Mittal Steel Co.'s CEO Lakshmi Mittal said he has
no plans to raise his $23 billion US offer for Arcelor SA or to make an
all-cash bid, and is confident that Luxembourg would not try to scuttle the
deal.
"Our offer is a very attractive offer, because we offer
the shares," Mittal said. "We are anticipating the growth of the
company, the merged company will have growth potential ... more benefits
because of the synergies."
Mittal said he was confident the Luxembourg government would
not take any decision to "frustrate this transaction" despite moves
by the country's Chamber of Commerce to change its takeover laws. The
Luxembourg government is the steelmaker's largest shareholder with a 5.6 per cent
stake it refuses to sell to Mittal.
Arcelor recently closed its own $5.6-billion takeover of
Hamilton's Dofasco Inc., one of North America's most profitable steel
producers. The purchase of Dofasco was thrown into doubt in January after
Mittal made its bid for Arcelor and said it would sell the steelmaker to
Germany's Thyssen-Krupp AG if the bid succeeds.
Arcelor has rejected Mittal's unsolicited offer as hostile,
saying it would hurt the group, its shareholders, employees and customers. But
Mittal said the company is owned by the shareholders who "will
decide."