Mittal Steel Co. announced this week that it has narrowed the list of bidders for its Sparrows Point mill and that Chicago Heights, Illinois-based steel distributor Esmark Inc. is among the remaining suitors to buy the company.
Mittal has not identified which other companies are on the list of potential buyers or the selling price of the mill, though spokesperson Bill Keegan did tell the press that as many as 20 prospective buyers had expressed interest in the plant, located outside of Baltimore.
The US Justice Department earlier this year ordered Mittal to sell the Sparrows Point mill to settle antitrust issues that resulted from Mittal's merger with Arcelor.
Sparrows Point is the only integrated steel mill in the US with direct ocean access, which makes it attractive to foreign companies.