After nearly three years of legal proceedings, a resolution of Stelco’s filing under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) is expected to proceed toward final acquisition. A Canadian bankruptcy judge is expected to remove barriers on the proposed takeover of the assets in Nanticoke and Hamilton sites as early as June 9 and allow venture capital firm Bedrock Industries LP to proceed.
The separate union teams along with salaried employees have negotiated agreements with Bedrock Industries in the last several weeks. Specifically, members of United Steel Workers at Stelco have ratified a five-year labor agreement with Bedrock Industries that include hourly wage increases and pension plan arrangements for current and retired workers.
Once the bankruptcy judge accepts the labor agreements and releases assets for acquisition, Bedrock Industries and any other bidders will be allowed to submit final plans to the court for a period of 21 days. At the moment, no other bids are known for the Stelco assets. Additionally, given the labor agreement requirements set forth by the bankruptcy judge as a necessary hurdle, it is unlikely that Bedrock Industries will not be able to finalize its complete takeover by early July 2017.