Local news outlets reported Wednesday that Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel, a major stakeholder in the Belo Horizonte, Brazil-based flat-rolled steelmaking company Usiminas, is in talks with Gerdau to become the majority stakeholders in Usiminas.
Last week, Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA (CSN) was reported to be seeking to buy the collective 26 percent stake in Usiminas owned by Camargo Correa SA and Grupo Votorantim. CSN has been buying shares in Usiminas over the last eight months as speculation mounts that CSN is looking to gain shareholder control of its rival.
However, as a major shareholder in Usiminas, Nippon Steel has the first option to refuse CSN's potential buyout of the shares owned by Camargo Correa and Grupo Votorantim--an option it is likely to exercise. News reports indicate that Nippon Steel is considering preventing CSN from buying the additional 26 percent stake in Usiminas, and would instead purchase the share, which would be sold, in part, to Gerdau instead.