Talks Expected to Continue on Sidor

Ternium expects to continue negotiating with the Venezuelan government on nationalization of its Sidor unit. The country’s national assembly passed a resolution declaring the company’s shares of the metal processor, together with all of its goods, as assets of public and social interest. “This resolution authorizes the Venezuelan government to take any action it may deem appropriate in connection with any such assets, which may include expropriation,” Ternium says. Talks are anticipated to continue next week, even after Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez threatened to nationalize the metal processor if an agreement was not reached by last Tuesday. The two sides remain far apart. The president places the value of Sidor at $800m, while Ternium wants $3.2bn-$4.8bn.