Arcelor gives up taking over Bethlehem Steel unit

Arcelor gives up taking over Bethlehem Steel unit

European steelmaker Arcelor, formed by merger of Aceralia of Spain, Arbed of Luxembourg and Usinor of France, was in talks with Bethlehem Steel Corp., a US bankrupt steel company, in order to take over its steel mill Burn's Harbour, Indiana with an annual production capacity of 3.5 million tons, mainly serving the automotive industry. However, Arcelor officials announced that they have ended talks with the Bethlehem Steel Corp. regarding such takeover. Officials from Arcelor explained the reason that the talks were over was because of their unwillingness to take over the liabilities of Bethlehem Steel as same involved too much risk, while emphasizing that they are still open for other opportunities in the US.