Ternium and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) have jointly agreed to nominate the board members of Brazil flats steelmaker Usiminas, the Brazilian steel producer announced on Monday.
The move indicates an improved relationship between Ternium and Nippon Steel, Usiminas’ majority shareholders.
The two groups appointed the following executives: Sergio Leite de Andrade (CEO), Alberto Ono (vice-president of finances and investor relations), Tulio Cesar do Couto Chipoletti (industrial VP), Takahiro Mori (corporate planning VP), Miguel Homes (commercial VP) and Kohei Kimura (quality and technology VP).
Usiminas has also proposed on Sunday to end a lawsuit filed by the company’s board against the steelmaker’s former CEO, Romel de Souza, who was appointed by Nippon Steel.
A company’s material fact on Sunday said the board should vote the matter on April 25.
The Usiminas board filed a lawsuit against Souza on March last year, on claims the former CEO reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Usiminas’ mining arm, MUSA, in which it sought a loss compensation deal.
The document was signed in May 2016, and raised discussion among board members at a board meeting in 2017, since some of them argued the signing of the document was “irregular.”
Souza did not consult the company’s board when signing the MoU. The decision to file a civil liability lawsuit against Souza was approved by the Usiminas board in a meeting in April 2017.
As for Usiminas’ board meeting scheduled for April 25 this year, the company suggested to amicably end the dispute with no compensation or indemnities for either parties.
SteelOrbis has learned the matter is likely to be approved, and should improve governability at Usiminas, following years of shareholder disputes.