CMC to acquire Gerdau assets

Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), Irving, Texas, has signed an agreement to acquire certain U.S. rebar steel mill and fabrication assets from Brazil-based Gerdau S.A. for around $600 million. CMC operates more than 120 recycling centers, steel mills, fabrication facilities, marketing and distribution offices, construction-related product stores, heat treating facilities and related operations in more than 12 countries.

The acquisition includes 33 rebar fabrication facilities in the United States as well as electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills in Knoxville, Tennessee; Jacksonville, Florida; Sayreville, New Jersey; and Rancho Cucamonga, California. Combined, the mills have annual rolling capacity of 2.5 million tons.

After adding Gerdau’s melt shop capacity, CMC will have around 7.2 million tons of global melt capacity at its disposal.

“This acquisition aligns with our strategy to focus on our strength in concrete reinforcing products and leverages CMC's core competencies in rebar production and value-added fabrication services to non­residential construction customers,” says Barbara Smith, president and CEO of CMC. “In addition, these assets provide us the opportunity to optimize our product mix more fully in the U.S. As a leader in rebar manufacturing technology and customer service, we are excited to take advantage of our expertise to increase throughput, lower costs and improve the customer experience in our new operations.”