Severstal, Russia’s biggest steelmaker, has entered the battle to buy Esmark, a medium-sized US steel producer, underlining the continued enthusiasm for acquisitions in the sector. The Russian company said Tuesday it was willing to buy Esmark for about $668m, or $17 a share. Esmark had already accepted a bid of the same value from Essar, the Indian steel company. Severstal hopes an agreement it has reached with the union representing workers at Esmark will make its deal more acceptable to the company’s board and shareholders than the rival offer from Essar.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 5:32 and is filed under Capital markets, M&A. Tagged with Esmark, Severstal. Edit this entry.