The government of the Boyaca region in Colombia is moving forward on a proposal to sell its stake at local steelmaker Acerias Paz del Rio, which is currently controlled by Brazil-based longs producer Votorantim Siderurgia.
Votorantim Siderurgia has recently proposed to merge its longs operations with ArcelorMittal in Brazil, but the deal has yet to be approved. Outside Brazil, Votorantim Siderurgia still owns steelmakers Acerias Paz del Rio in Colombia and Acerbrag in Argentina.
Both the government of Boyaca and the state’s Finance Institute, Infiboy, agreed to sell Infiboy’s shares at Acerias Paz del Rio. Currently, Infiboy owns 13.2 percent of the steelmaker’s stocks, while Votorantim Siderurgia owns the remaining 82.2 percent.
Infiboy said this week the government has not seen any income from the steelmaker’s stocks in about 20 years.