Monthly highlights 2008
January 2008
ArcelorMittal signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière in Mauritania. The agreement provides for the development of a large iron ore mining project in Mauritania.
ArcelorMittal acquires Unicon, the leading manufacturer of welded steel pipes in Venezuela. Unicon supplies the oil and gas and industrial and construction sectors both domestically and overseas. The transaction was completed in April 2008.
ArcelorMittal inaugurates Arceo, its industrial prototype line for vacuum plasma steel coating in Liège, Belgium. With this process, steel can be a sensor, a reflector, a source of light, more aesthetically pleasing or endowed with better anti-corrosive properties.
ArcelorMittal Steel Service Centre Sverige and BE Group create a 50/50 processed flat carbon steel joint venture in Sweden. This combination creates a new number three in the Swedish market, with a 20% market share.
February 2008
ArcelorMittal acquires the remaining 50% interest in Laminadora Costarricense and Trefileria Colima, the only major long carbon steel company in Costa Rica.
ArcelorMittal and the federal and regional governments of Belgium agree on carbon dioxide ('CO2') emission allowances. As a consequence, the re-launch of ArcelorMittal Liège, Belgium, Blast Furnace Number 6 is initiated.
April 2008
ArcelorMittal enters the Brazilian Steel Service Centre market with the acquisition of 50% of Gonvarri Brasil. The aim is to establish a strong presence in the Brazilian flat steel downstream segment, building on the product leadership of ArcelorMittal's Tubarão, Vitória, and Vega do Sul plants.
ArcelorMittal acquires three coal mines and associated assets in Russia for a total consideration of $720 million.
ArcelorMittal agrees to build a third line in its joint venture partnership with Nippon Steel by building a new continuous galvanizing line at the I/N Kote facility in New Carlisle, Indiana, at a cost of $240 million. On December 4, 2008, Nippon Steel announced that the project would be delayed until demand in the US automobile industry market strengthens.
ArcelorMittal concludes a coal off-take agreement with Coal of Africa Limited, the South African coal development company, relating to the Baobab and Thuli coal mines.
May 2008
The Court appointed trustee completes the sale of ArcelorMittal's Sparrows Point steel mill to OAO Severstal for $810 million, net of debt.
June 2008
ArcelorMittal and its unions sign a groundbreaking global agreement on occupational Health and Safety. It sets out minimum standards in every site in order to achieve world class performance.
ArcelorMittal holds an inaugural global interactive individual shareholder event with Second Life. Through this virtual reality website, individual shareholders can meet and interact with Mr Mittal.
ArcelorMittal signs an agreement to acquire Bayou Steel, a producer of structural steel with facilities in LaPlace, Louisiana, and Harriman, Tennessee, for $509 million. The transaction closed in July 2008.
ArcelorMittal signs an agreement to acquire the Mid Vol Coal Group. This partnership will increase the Company's upstream self-sufficiency in raw materials.
ArcelorMittal, Hunan Valin Group and Hunan Valin Steel Co. launch Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel, an industrial and commercial automotive joint venture that will have an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of flat carbon steel, mainly for automotive applications.
ArcelorMittal enhances its distribution activities in the United Arab Emirates. The Company intends to acquire 60% of Dubai Steel Trading Company LLC ('DSTC LLC'), a newly incorporated company located in the Dubai free zone. The acquisition is finalised in January 2009.
ArcelorMittal increases its stake in Macarthur Coal of Australia, from 14.9% to 19.9%.
July 2008
ArcelorMittal and AREVA sign an industrial partnership agreement for a euro70 million ($110 million) investment aimed at increasing production of steel products for the nuclear industry at the Group's Industeel plant.
ArcelorMittal launches a new clean technology venture capital fund, with an initial clean technology investment of $20 million in MiaSolé, and a new carbon fund, as part of its commitment to finding solutions for environmental challenges, including climate change.
ArcelorMittal's Stainless International segment acquires the 35% stake in Uginox Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi ('Uginox') owned by Primex. Uginox operates a coil processing and service centre in Turkey dedicated to servicing the automotive and white goods markets.
ArcelorMittal signs an agreement to acquire Concept Group ('Concept'), located in southern West Virginia, USA. Concept's proximity to Mid Vol's operations will allow the Group to draw on the complementary strengths of both companies to increase their combined production capacity. The transaction is completed in August 2008.
ArcelorMittal announces a €76 million ($118 million) investment to expand electrical steel production capacity at its Saint Chély d'Apcher plant, France.
ArcelorMittal reinforces its Steel Service Centre network in Brazil by acquiring a 70% share of Manchester Tubos e Perfilados, the Brazilian steel processor and distributor located in Contagem, Minas Gerais.
August 2008
ArcelorMittal projects new investments of $1.6 billion in its carbon steel operations in Brazil. The timing and scope of this investment are currently under review.
ArcelorMittal acquires the Koppers' Monessen coke plant for $170 million. The acquisition is an important step towards increasing upstream self-sufficiency in metallurgical coke production. The transaction was completed in October 2008.
Hunan Valin Iron & Steel Group Co. Ltd and ArcelorMittal sign a 50/50 joint venture agreement for the production and sale of electrical (silicon) steel, one more milestone following the automotive sheet JV agreement signed in June. The new JV, named Valin ArcelorMittal Electrical Steel, will build cold rolling and processing facilities for the production of electrical steels.
ArcelorMittal acquires Brazilian iron ore miner London Mining South America Limited and reaches an agreement with Adriana Resources Inc. for the development of an iron ore port facility in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Together with an investment in Mineração Pirâmide Participações Ltda, the acquisition further diversifies ArcelorMittal's iron ore base in the face of tighter raw material supply.
September 2008
ArcelorMittal and Kalagadi Manganese agree a 50/50 joint venture to develop Kalagadi's South African manganese deposits. Project implementation has not yet begun and its scope and timing are under review.
ArcelorMittal Warsaw inaugurates a new bar rolling mill, one of the most advanced rolling lines in Europe, following an investment of euro80 million.
ArcelorMittal announces a new 'Management Gains' plan that will target $4 billion of cost savings over the next five years. The plan focuses on increasing employee productivity, reducing energy consumption and reducing input costs to achieve a higher yield and improved product quality.
ArcelorMittal organises its Leadership Conference in New Delhi, India. The 650 most senior managers have the opportunity to present their strategies, discuss critical issues and plan the future. Mr Mittal launches the new operating philosophy of Safe Sustainable Steel.
November 2008
ArcelorMittal meets with its European Works Council to present voluntary separation programmes to be launched across the Group. This is to help achieve the Company's stated aim of reducing SG&A expenditure by an additional $1 billion in response to the current economic situation.
ArcelorMittal announces measures in response to the downturn in the global steel industry. These include: postponing target completion dates for the realisation of previously announced shipment growth objectives entailing substantial capital expenditure, increasing targeted cost savings under the 'Management Gains' programme over the next five years to $5 billion through additional savings in SG&A costs, increasing temporary cuts in steel production to up to 35% (later increased to approximately 40-45%) globally in order to accelerate steel inventory reduction, and targeting a $10 billion reduction in net debt by the end of 2009.
In addition, ArcelorMittal suspends the share buy-back programme until the debt reduction targets are achieved.
December 2008
ArcelorMittal enters into binding agreements to reduce its voting interest in Dillinger Hütte Saarstahl AG ('DHS') from 51.25% to 33.4% (corresponding to an economic interest of 30.08% since DHS holds 10% of its shares in treasury), in line with existing governance rights. ArcelorMittal plans to remain a key industrial partner to DHS.