Singapore (Platts)--16Dec2010/704 am EST/1204 GMT
The world's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, Thursday gave details of the spinoff of its stainless division, saying it will be subject to restructuring including a temporary shutdown of a cold-rolling mill in France. The new company, to be named Aperam, will be listed on the Paris, Amsterdam and Luxembourg stock exchanges, ArcelorMittal said without providing a time line. It has launched a restructuring initiative in a bid to generate $250 million in additional gains over the next two years. This will involve the conversion of blast furnace No. 2 at its Timoteo mill in Brazil to charcoal, the temporary suspension of operations at a cold-rolling mill in Isbergues, France, and a $62 million investment to increase the productivity of the hot annealing and pickling line in Gueugnon, France, the company said. The newly independent unit will have an annual production capacity of 2.5 million mt of stainless steel in Europe and Brazil, operating in high value-added niches such as alloys and specialty steel. The business has about 9,800 employees and generated revenues of $4.2 billion from shipments of 1.45 million mt in 2009. The spinoff is to be approved at a shareholder meeting on January 25, 2011, ArcelorMittal said.--Julien Hall, julien_hall@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Steel Markets Daily. See more information at http://bit.ly/SteelMarketsDaily