JSW Steel proposes to invest $500 mn in US-based steel plant

JSW Steel on Friday said it has proposed an investment of up to $500 million to acquire and upgrade Acero Junction Inc, a US-based integrated steel manufacturing plant.

The proposed investment would be made in two phases and would increase the company's overall investment blueprint for the US market for production of American melt and manufactured steel to up to $1 billion, JSW Steel said in a regulatory filing to the BSE. 

"JSW Steel has proposed an investment of up to $500 million in acquiring, enhancing and upgrading Acero Junction Inc, an integrated steel manufacturing unit with a potential capacity of three MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum), located at Ohio, US, in phases," the company said.

In Phase I, the company would revamp and restart the electric arc furnace and the slab caster, and modernise the hot strip mill, it said, adding that the proposed investment, including the cost of acquisition, is expected to be approximately $250 million.

Depending upon the economic viability and market conditions, in Phase II, JSW Steel would "evaluate the possibility of adding another electric arc furnace as well as additional manufacturing equipment at the hot strip mill to make the Ohio facility a fully integrated unit with three MTPA capacity", with investment of up to $250 million, as per the statement. 

"The integrated steel manufacturing unit in Ohio, with a potential capacity of three MTPA, was acquired as part of the recently concluded Acero Junction Holdings Inc deal," it added.

In March this year, JSW Steel entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent shareholding in US-based company.