International Steel Mills
February 2, 2016
Japan Steelmakers See Consolidation as Answer to Industry Challenges
Written by Sandy Williams
Japan’s number one steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp (NSSMC) announced it has begun discussions to buy fourth-ranked rival Nisshin Steel. The target date for the proposed acquisition is March 2017.
The global imbalance of steel supply and demand led Nisshan to consider rationalizing its iron and steel making by shutting down operations at the Kure steelworks No.2 blast furnace and sourcing all of its steel slabs from NSSMC. As a result of conversations on the proposal, the companies decided the best course of action was to make Nisshin a subsidiary of NSSMC.
