Nucor Completes Birmingham Steel Acquisition

Nucor Corp. has completed the purchase of substantially all of the assets of Birmingham Steel Corp. for about $615 million. Birmingham Steel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past summer.

Primary assets purchased are Birmingham Steel's four operating mills in Birmingham, Ala.; Kankakee, Ill.; Seattle, Wash.; and Jackson, Miss., with an estimated combined annual capacity of approximately 2 million tons.

Other included assets are the corporate office in Birmingham; the mill in Memphis, Tenn., currently idled; assets of Port Everglades Steel Corp.; the assets of the Klean Steel Division; and Birmingham Steel's ownership in Richmond Steel Recycling Ltd. The purchase price also includes approximately $120 million in inventory and receivables.

"The addition of these assets will support our bar products strategy to broaden our base of customers and build profitable market share," said Dan DiMicco, Nucor's vice chairman, president and CEO.

With the acquisitions, Nucor now has 12 minimills throughout the country.