The Stel Salaried Pensioners
Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission to post the
following article by Reporter Mark McNeil published in the December 1, 2004
edition
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Dec. 1, 2004. 12:34 AM |
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Stelco's Pratt outlines two-stage
bid process |
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By Mark McNeil |
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Stelco's CEO says the court has given Stelco a "clear sense of direction" to find the best restructuring offer to lead the steelmaker out of bankruptcy protection. And over the next several weeks, Courtney Pratt said in a memo to employees yesterday, "each serious bid, including that of Deutsche Bank, will be considered and will stand or fall on its merits." The memo came after Monday's decision by Justice James Farley to approve a Stelco management proposal to accept a $900-million offer from the German bank as an opening bid in the capital-raising process. Pratt said: "The bid will become the benchmark against which the offers of other interested investors will be evaluated." Pratt also expressed support for pensioners, who Justice Farley the previous day argued were "the most vulnerable of the stakeholders in this situation." Pratt said: "We've stated from the outset that our goal is to preserve pensions, not weaken them. We've stated that the interests of all stakeholders have to be addressed. And we've stated that our goal is a Stelco that, among other things, provides certainty for our pensioners. We remain committed to those views and will continue to advance them wherever possible." But a Steelworkers union official says he believes Pratt was only trying "to quell some of the rebellion coming from rank and file workers. "We've received a lot of e-mails after the Deutsche Bank deal was approved and they were not very favorable," said Bill Ferguson, president of Local 8782. "I don't know whether (Pratt) is hearing the same kind of criticism that the Deutsche Bank deal had nothing for the pensioners." Stelco is contacting companies that have previously expressed an interest in putting a bid in and offering the opportunity to sign a confidentiality agreement and conduct due diligence before putting in a formal offer. Pratt said the process will be conducted in two stages. Phase one involves soliciting initial bids from interested parties who conduct limited due diligence, and that will run until the end of December. In the second phase, acceptable bidders will complete a more detailed due diligence and submit binding offers. That phase will conclude at the end of January 2005. Spokespersons for Russian steelmaker Severstal and U.S. Steel both said those companies plan to sign the required confidentiality agreements to begin their detailed assessment about whether to follow through with an offer. mmcneil@thespec.com 905-526-4687 |