Brazilian integrated steelmaker Gerdau has reached an agreement with Hierros Añon SA and Gallega de Mallas to acquire a controlling stake at Ceará-state based steelmaker Siderurgica Latino-americana (Silat), Gerdau said on Wednesday.
Gerdau had been mulling Silat’s acquisition, as previously reported by SteelOrbis. The company agreed to purchase a 96.35 percent stake at Silat for $110.8 million. The acquisition may be subject to certain usual conditions often due in the transaction close. Gerdau said local anti-trust authority, Cade, has yet to approve the deal.
The acquisition marks a move that diverges from Gerdau’s divesting strategy, in which the company has been shedding non-core assets in the past few years, including rebar, cutting and folding steel mills in Florida, as well as businesses in Spain and India.
Silat is based in the Brazilian state of Ceará and operates a 600,000 mt/year rebar and wire rod mill. It is owned by Spanish group Hierros Añón.
Gerdau already owns a steel mill nearby with a 160,000 mt/year capacity, located about 12.4 miles from Silat.