Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) has appealed this week a decision by the country’s anti-trust authority, Cade, to approve the acquisition of local slab producer Companhia Siderurgica do Atlantico (CSA) by Ternium.
Brazil’s Cade approved the deal with no restrictions on August 1, as previously reported by SteelOrbis. According a document filing this week, CSN wants to revert the deal.
CSN’s lawyers Cascione, Pulino, Boulos and Santos argued CSA is the “only carbon slab producer” in Brazil that is not vertically integrated to the country’s flat steelmakers and capable of offering the semi-finished product domestically at “competitive prices.”
CSN said Ternium is one of its main competitors in the local flat steel market, considering it owns local producer Usiminas. CSN said the deal would result in the vertical integration of CSA with Usiminas, affecting CSA’s independence, which is seen by CSN as an “essential” provider of slab in Brazil.
“If approved, the deal would increase significantly the already ample power of the integrated player, generating serious risks to competition due to the restriction of access by finished steel producers in the country to a raw material that is essential for their productive process,” CSN said in its appeal.
While approving the deal, Cade said CSA was not the only option for local steelmakers to buy slab, as they could import the product. It also argued CSA was not significantly representative in terms of slab production capacity. CSN labeled Cade’s decision as a mistake.