The Stel Salaried Pensioners Organization wishes to
thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the following article,
published in the March 28, 2006 edition
The Hamilton Spectator; with files from The Canadian Press
(Mar 28, 2006)
After 26 months of trial and tribulations, all of the
documents Stelco needs to leave bankruptcy protection have been signed.
The company announced the finalization of its bitterly
debated plan yesterday. Other than the filing of some documents with the
Ontario Securities Commission, nothing remains to block the end of the
steelmaker's long nightmare at the end of this week.
The new and improved Stelco will emerge Saturday morning
when its current protection order expires.
"Every single key document to our exit plan has been
finalized and signed," Stelco spokesman Helen Reeves said yesterday.
"All that's left is some legal tidying up for all of the filings that need
to happen."
One of the final documents specified the terms of new
secured floating-rate notes -- part of the refinancing that Stelco arranged
while in bankruptcy protection.
The company's bondholders have approved the terms, Stelco
said yesterday. The notes' terms were recently changed to increase by 0.5 per
cent the interest rate payable in the first two years.
When Stelco exits bankruptcy protection on March 31, CEO
Courtney Pratt will become chairman of the new board. Pratt will be replaced as
CEO by Rodney Mott, who was CEO of Ohio-based International Steel Group Inc.
before it was sold to Mittal Steel last April in a $4.5-billion US deal.
One of his first tasks will be negotiating a new collective
agreement for unionized workers in Hamilton. The current contract expires this
summer.
The company's old stock, which was wiped out under its
restructuring plan, has been delisted.
On April 3, new shares will begin trading on the Toronto
Stock Exchange. Tricap Management Ltd., a restructuring fund that is lending
Stelco $375 million, will own about one-third of the stock. Tricap is run by
Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management.
Two other firms that are financing Stelco, Sunrise Partners
LP and Appaloosa Management LP, will split an ownership stake of at least 34.9
per cent.