Aço Verde Brasil (AVB), a long steel producer located in Açailandia, in the northeastern state of Maranhão, has reportedly hired the local arm of the Swiss bank UBS to find a strategic partner for its expansion.
According to the local press, AVB plans to increase its production capacity from today’s 730,000 mt per year to 1.2 million mt per year, but its shareholders are not willing to increase the financial leverage, as the investments required for the expansion are estimated at the equivalent of up to $500 million.
The company has expectations to attract private equity, institutional and investment funds as investors, based on its condition of being a steel producer with a net-zero carbon dioxide emissions.
The company uses charcoal from its own plantation forests to feed its two blast furnaces, along with iron ore supplied by Vale, from its Carajas mines.