Open / Close Advertisement

Asian Steel Consortium Closes Acquisition of 40% Stake in CSN’s Namisa Subsidiary

12/31/2008 - The Asian consortium Big Jump Energy Participacoes — Itochu, JFE Steel, Nippon Steel, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Kobe Steel, Nisshin Steel, and Posco — closes its acquisition of a 40% stake in CSN mining subsidiary Nacional Minerios SA.

Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) announced closure of its sale of a 40% stake in its mining subsidiary Nacional Minerios SA (Namisa) to Big Jump Energy Participacoes SA, a consortium of Japanese and Korean steel producers. Closing of the transaction, announced earlier this year, followed its approval earlier in the month by the Commission of the European Communities.
 
The consortium—comprising Itochu Corp., JFE Steel Corp., Nippon Steel Corp., Sumitomo Metal Industries, Kobe Steel, Nisshin Steel, and Posco—paid an aggregate amount of approximately US$3.08 billion for 40% of Namisa’s voting and total capital stock. Big Jump used approximately US$3.04 billion of the total to pay for shares subscribed by BIG JUMP in a capital increase of NAMISA by issuing new shares.
 
Namisa will use its proceeds from the sale as payment for certain amounts owed to CSN related to the future sales of crude iron ore (run of mine) and the provision of port services as per agreements between CSN and Namisa. According to the company, all agreements were negotiated on an arms-length basis.
 
The difference between the transaction amount announced Oct. 21 on the statement of material fact (US$3.12 billion) and the amount actually paid by BIG JUMP (approximately US$3.08 billion) is the result of contractually established balance sheet adjustments for NAMISA.
 
Following the transaction, CSN maintains 60% of Namisa’s voting and total capital.