Welcome Back, Stelco

[SteelTown]

Judge sides with U.S. Steel over debt claims

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/63...r-debt-claims/

U.S. Steel has won a sweeping victory in its claim for $2.2 billion in debts from the former Stelco.

In a decision released Monday afternoon, Superior Court Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel confirmed nearly all of the company's claims as debts rather than equity. That makes the American parent company of U.S. Steel Canada the largest debtholder with extensive power to shape the Hamilton company's restructuring under creditor protection.

The claims addressed in the judge's decision total more than $2.2 billion Cdn.

Objectors to the parent company's claims, active and retired salaried and unionized workers and the provincial government, had argued the American company's claims were nothing more than an effort to recover the cost of buying Stelco in 2007.

Their objections were the subject of an eight-day trial in January.

[SteelTown]

Buyer wants to merge Stelco and Algoma into Canadian steel company

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/67...steel-company/

A bid to merge the former Stelco and Algoma into a new Canadian steel company took a major step forward Friday.

KPS Capital Partners, one of the leading bidders to buy U.S. Steel Canada, submitted a clear asset purchase agreement for Algoma in court in Sault Ste. Marie.

In an affidavit, Algoma's chief restructuring adviser said the KPS bid was the only offer submitted in the second stage of the bidding process.

The offer is conditional of negotiating a new collective agreement with the United Steel Workers and the "support" of the Ontario government.

[Beedok]

US business practices just aren't acceptable up here.

[SteelTown]

US Steel Canada to be sold to Bedrock Industries.

[SteelTown]

Bedrock Industries reaches deal to buy U.S. Steel Canada

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...sale-1.3831872

American Company Bedrock Industries Group has reached a deal to buy beleaguered U.S. Steel Canada, U.S. Steel announced today.

The sale is subject to court approvals.

In a statement, provincial minister of finance Charles Sousa called the move an important step towards the former Stelco's restructuring that will "save jobs, protect pensions and assist in providing post-employment benefits for active and retired employees at USSC's Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities."

The agreement comes as the latest in a lengthy restructuring and court process that continues to roll on — and one that is certainly not complete.

While the province has a rosy outlook about the news, the steelworker's union has a decidedly bleaker one.

Bedrock is a private equity investment firm that buys distressed companies and restructures them. The company and the province announced a memorandum of understanding back in September.

Steelworkers Local 1005 president Gary Howe told CBC News that the union is not looking at this news positively.

"It's interesting that two American companies are negotiating in secret to purchase a Canadian company," he said. "Meanwhile, the pensioners are going to take the hit.

"This whole process is not geared towards workers or people, it's geared towards making money."

U.S. Steel Corp. purchased the struggling Stelco in 2007. The sale involved a private agreement with the federal government that USW and Hamilton city officials have long feared would eventually hurt pensioners.

In 2014, citing millions in losses, U.S. Steel Canada (USSC) entered bankruptcy protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

The memorandum of understanding that the province signed off on with Bedrock back in September lays out mostly confidential terms for restructuring that might be permitted for the company.

The union says that it has not seen the details of that deal, and is once again in the dark.

In his statement, Sousa said that all details will remain confidential "until they can be released pursuant to a court process."

Howe says he expects the court process for the sale and what it will mean for local pensioners to continue well into 2017.

[SteelTown]

Stelco name to return

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/69...ame-to-return/

U.S. Steel Canada is changing its name back to Stelco, a union official says.

The company plans to hoist a Stelco flag Friday at its Hamilton plant in the morning and Lake Erie Works later that afternoon, according to Bill Ferguson, head of steelworkers union Local 8782 that represent Lake Erie workers.

Ferguson said he welcomed the development.

He said it was "worst kept secret in the world. Everyone knew it was coming down.

"I welcome it. Going back to the name Stelco gives us that independence."

However, he said, it does not mean a deal is in place to bring the company out of creditor protection. Talks with Bedrock Industries continue, and workers' pensions and benefits have still not been resolved, according to Ferguson and Gary Howe, the head of Local 1005 that represents workers in Hamilton.

The news comes after U.S. Steel was granted an extension of its Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) protection in a Toronto court.

[SteelTown]

I suppose I should rename this thread from" Goodbye Stelco" to "Welcome Back, Stelco"

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

I suppose I should rename this thread from" Goodbye Stelco" to "Welcome Back, Stelco"

How about "Hey, how's it going Stelco? Nice to see you again. Staying long?"

[SteelTown]

Buh bye US Steel and welcome back Stelco


https://twitter.com/coreurban?lang=en

[NortheastWind]

Although I welcome the employment that's coming back to the city, I'm not looking forward to the return of billowing smoke stacks - especially when it blows into the city.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^It's already IN the city...

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by NortheastWind

Although I welcome the employment that's coming back to the city, I'm not looking forward to the return of billowing smoke stacks - especially when it blows into the city.

This is just a public relations manoeuvre on the part of U.S. Steel.

What becomes of the plants and all that land is still TBD, but if steel works are still going to be part of that I think they'll be limited and specialized.

The land itself holds a lot of value, contamination notwithstanding, especially to the port authority.

There's a win-win in all this somewhere. Maybe that's a naive opinion, but I feel it.

[eatboots]

Most of the Hamilton Stelco property has been sitting unsused for a while so it's not like they can just start production again without substantial infrastructure updates, I think the last time they actually MADE steel here was 5+ years ago.

A lot of wishful thinking happens anytime there is an announcement(and rightfully so) but the land is worth more than the buildings sitting on it at this point

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by eatboots

Most of the Hamilton Stelco property has been sitting unsused for a while so it's not like they can just start production again without substantial infrastructure updates, I think the last time they actually MADE steel here was 5+ years ago.

A lot of wishful thinking happens anytime there is an announcement(and rightfully so) but the land is worth more than the buildings sitting on it at this point

A good portion of the land was used to store blast furnace inputs. Ore. Coal & coke. Limestone.

[eatboots]

While I'm sure the ground is unusable there are huge sections near the harbour that used to store giant piles of slag that have been cleared out and are pretty much just giant fields at this point. I think most of Stelco's energy is going to go toward Nanticoke and Hamilton will probably get shrunk down to a much smaller footprint.

[SteelTown]

This is what the city has in mind for the unused U.S. Steel land. They'll vote whether to move toward this today
Samantha Craggs
https://twitter.com/SamCraggsCBC

[eatboots]

Having a cleaned up/more accessible waterfront would be amazing!

[ScreamingViking]

I would guess this presupposes that the coke battery and blast furnace complexes do not get sold for those uses? (I think it unlikely, but you never know)

It's really staggering how large that area is.

[eatboots]

Stelco/U.S Steel has only maintained a VERY small section of the property, most of what is down there hasn't been used in 10+ years, it would probably cost less to rebuild it than try and refurbish it.

[RaginRonic]

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/73...greement-vote/

Stelco: 1005 says yes in historic collective agreement vote


United Steelworkers Local 1005 has a new collective agreement with Stelco's owner-in-waiting Bedrock Industries, clearing the last major obstacle in a mega-restructuring deal to lift the steelmaker out of creditor protection.

With workers voting nearly 64% in favour of the new contract tonight, Stelco representatives will now present the takeover plan to Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel at a "Sanction Hearing" Friday at which the judge is expected to approve the plan.

The contract vote Tuesday follows ratification votes for Lake Erie Works Locals 8782 (a) and 8782 (b) last Friday and acceptance of the restructuring plan by all stakeholders in the court-supervised process under Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

After the court "sanctions" the deal, people contesting or having claims will have 21 days to apply to the court. If no substantial issue arises, Bedrock will become the new owner of Stelco operations in Hamilton and Nanticoke on June 30.

The bargaining committee did not make a recommendation to the 500 person bargaining unit about whether or not to accept the offer and union officials declined to comment on the results Tuesday night.

McMaster University business professor Marvin Ryder said,"It's not utopia for the union members. But it was the best deal on the table."

He noted the workers in Hamilton will receive cost of living increases, and "there is a way forward" when it comes to gathering funds to pay for pensions and benefits for pensioners.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger says he supports the Bedrock takeover but feels the city was unduly left out of the negotiations.

"We want Bedrock to begin operating," he said. "We are not going to try to thwart the proceedings in any way shape or form we want the (restructuring) to close."

One of the key features of the deal is the creation of a land trust, called Landco, for the steelmaker's 818-acre harbourfront property with environmental liability being backstopped by the province. Stelco would then lease a third of the property for its operations leaving the rest to be remediated for future development.

Bedrock will put $80 million towards the remediation.

Details about who would sit on the board that oversees Landco still has to be worked out but a source within the province's finance ministry says they are looking for people with financial expertise rather than people to represent various interests.

Eisenberger wrote a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne last month about fears the land would be sold in a "fire sale" fashion, undermining its future potential. Under the original terms of the deal, the vacated land would be fixed up and sold or leased within five years.

The province has since lifted the time constraint.

However, the city is still looking for assurances that it will be involved in the future development of the lands.

"We want to step up the dialogue with the province and ultimately the federal government about next steps to make this best possible outcome for all concerned," said Eisenberger.

The provincial source said leaving the city out of the negotiations up till now was seen as the best way to get a deal. Once that is formalized by the court, there will be all kinds of opportunity for discussion about future use of the lands.