Sep 2 2004
Stelco Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has elected to pursue the sale of Stelfil Ltee.
Stelfil is a wholly-owned subsidiary that produces wire and wire products at a plant in Montreal. It employs approximately 300 employees and had sales of approximately $61 million in 2003. Stelfil is not one of the applicants under Stelco's current Court-supervised restructuring.
Courtney Pratt, Stelco's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "As in the case of the decision to sell Stelwire and Stelpipe, the decision to sell Stelfil is driven by the 4-point strategy we announced in July. A successfully restructured Stelco will focus on its core integrated steel business, producing high quality products for value added markets including the automotive and other sectors. As a result, we've indicated that we will either close or sell other businesses that do not fit within this long-term strategy. We believe that Stelfil will benefit from new ownership that will treat it as a core business asset. It has a terrific workforce and an experienced senior management team."
Proposed processes for the sale of each of Stelfil, Stelwire and Stelpipe are contained in the Eighth Report of the Monitor that was filed with the Court this afternoon. In that Report the Monitor indicates its view that these processes are fair and reasonable and recommends their approval. Stelco will seek the Court's approval at a hearing to be conducted on September 7, 2004.
The Monitor's report also discloses financial information for each of the above-noted subsidiaries.
Stelpipe recorded sales of approximately $149 million in 2003 and approximately $117 million through the first seven months of 2004. Stelwire recorded sales of approximately $125 million in 2003 and approximately $89 million through the first seven months of 2004. Stelfil recorded sales of approximately $61 million in 2003 and approximately $51 million through the first seven months of 2004.
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