Bethlehem Steel sells Washington
Specialty Metals to Ryerson Tull Inc.
For Immediate Release
Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
1170 Eighth Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
(610) 694-3711 - Phone
(610) 694-1509 - Fax
Washington Specialty Metals was acquired by Bethlehem Steel in May 1998 as part of Bethlehem's purchase of Lukens Inc. and has been actively marketed for sale by Bethlehem since then.
Washington Specialty Metals processes and distributes stainless steel products throughout the United States and Canada. Ryerson Tull, a majority-owned subsidiary of Inland Steel Industries, is one of North America's leading distributors and processors of metals.
Curtis H. Barnette, chairman and chief executive officer, Bethlehem Steel, said, "We are pleased to have entered into an agreement with Ryerson Tull for the sale of Washington Specialty Metals. This transaction is another step in our planned exit from the stainless sheet and distribution businesses acquired in our merger with Lukens Inc. In November 1998, we closed an asset sale agreement with Allegheny Teledyne involving the melting and hot rolling facilities at Houston, Pa. and the wide anneal and pickle line at Massillon, Ohio. We are continuing our efforts to sell the assets of the stainless sheet rolling and finishing operations at Washington, Pa. and the cold rolling facility for stainless sheet at Massillon."
Washington Specialty Metals, which has 225 employees, has headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Ill., and distribution centers in Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Florida and North Carolina in the United States and in two Canadian provinces. The business will continue to operate and serve its customers while the sale is being completed. The purchase price is about $70 million. Bethlehem and Ryerson Tull expect to complete this transaction in the first quarter of 1999.