BETHLEHEM, Pa., Feb. 5 — The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which is in bankruptcy, said today that it had agreed to be acquired by the International Steel Group. þþTerms of the deal were not disclosed. They will be presented to Bethlehem's board on Saturday, the company said. þþInternational Steel, which is backed by the buyout fund W. L. Ross & Company, had offered $1.5 billion for most of Bethlehem's assets on Jan. 6. þþOn a conference call, executives said the price of the deal had changed in the last month, but declined to discuss the changes. They said W. L. Ross, led by the restructuring specialist Wilbur Ross, would acquire more assets and more liabilities under the new deal. þþBesides the approval of Bethlehem's directors, the deal will need clearance from the bankruptcy court as well as the company's creditors. Bethlehem's retirees, who form part of the unsecured creditors' group, have so far opposed International Steel's terms. þþÿThere's been quite a number of changes within the details of the offer,ÿ Bethlehem's chief executive, Robert S. Miller Jr., said. But, he said, the new offer was ÿstill in the ballparkÿ of the original $1.5 billion. þþThe deal comes after a decline in the fortunes of the steel industry, where dozens of companies have sought bankruptcy protection in the face of cheap foreign imports and heavy obligations like the cost of retiree benefits. þþMr. Ross and Mr. Miller declined to discuss any job cuts that could occur on completion of the acquisition. But, they said on the conference call, the deal included some $100 million for use in offering buyouts.þþInternational Steel, which was organized by W. L. Ross in April 2002, acquired the principal steel making and steel finishing assets of the LTV Corporation last April. In October, it bought a sheet minimill in Illinois that had been operated by the Acme Steel Company. þþBethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2001. Last year it had revenue of about $3.5 billion and shipments of 7.5 million tons of steel products. It has about 11,000 employees.þþInternational Steel said that with the acquisition of Bethlehem Steel, it would be the largest integrated producer of steel in North America, with more than 16 million tons of annual shipments. þþMr. Ross said that if it were not for the relative cooperation of the steel workers union and President Bush's imposition of steel tariffs, the deal would not have been possible.þþþ
Source: NY Times
