Nov 25 2005
Stelco Inc. announced this evening that a consensual agreement on the economic terms of a restructuring plan has been achieved among key stakeholders.
The stakeholder agreement has the support of four key stakeholder groups - representatives of the Company's bondholders, the Province of Ontario, Tricap Management Limited and the United Steelworkers. The Company's management and the Chief Restructuring Officer participated in these negotiations. Given the speed at which events moved during the course of today, the Company's Board of Directors has not yet had the opportunity to consider the proposal in detail; it is expected to do so by Monday. Should the Board approve the proposed economic terms, it would expect to file an amended plan promptly.
At the meetings of creditors held this evening, and at the request of the Company, the Court-appointed Monitor adjourned the meetings until Friday, December 2, 2005 so that affected creditors may receive and consider the amended plan. In addition, the Honourable Mr. Justice Farley has been given sufficient assurances concerning the agreement by counsel for the key stakeholders that he has determined that he need not return from vacation to hear motions for alternative relief tentatively scheduled for Friday, November 25, 2005.
Courtney Pratt, Stelco President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Achieving consensus among these stakeholder groups is a positive step toward allowing Stelco to emerge as a viable and competitive steel producer for the long term. This proposal will now be presented to, and fully considered by, Stelco's Board of Directors, based on, among other things, the interests of the Corporation and fairness to the Corporation's stakeholders. I want to thank everyone concerned for the effort and dedication that have brought us to this stage."
"I want to acknowledge the increased participation of the Province of Ontario and the support we received from the Government of Canada today," Mr. Pratt noted. "This presence is extremely important and sends a strong signal of support to the entire Stelco community."