Bethlehem Steel Acquires Rights For Full Ownership

Bethlehem Steel Corp. announced April 26 that a U.S. bankruptcy court judge has given the company exclusive right to acquire full ownership of Columbus Coating Company and Columbus Processing Company, both located near Columbus, Ohio.

Chief Judge William T. Bodoh of U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Ohio, approved the settlement of a lawsuit Bethlehem Steel brought against LTV Corp., granting Bethlehem exclusive right to acquire LTV’s interest in the 50/50 joint venture of Columbus Coatings that is currently owned by subsidiaries of LTV and Bethlehem.

Bethlehem, which is itself in bankruptcy, will pay $2.5 million, forgive certain liabilities owned by LTV and assume LTV’s portion of the outstanding venture modernization loan taken out by Columbus Coatings Corp.

“Columbus Coatings is a strategic part of Bethlehem’s Burns Harbor, Indiana., Division, and critical to its long-term success and future,” Robert S. Miller, Jr., Bethlehem’s CEO and chairman said. “Bethlehem’s acquisition of the all of the business allows us to control its destiny.”