Wheeling-Pittsburgh to combine with CSN

West Virginia flat rolled producer Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation has announced that it has negotiated the material points of an agreement to acquire the North American assets of leading Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN). Under the terms of the agreement, CSN would contribute its Terre Haute, Indiana steel processing facility, with annual capacity of 900,000 tons, and provide a cash investment of $225 million, which would be convertible to 11.8 million shares of the new Wheeling-Pittsburgh within three year's time. CSN will have 49.5 percent ownership in the new company, and current Wheeling-Pitts shareholders will own 50.5 percent.