CSN Buys German Steelmaker

Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) has purchased all the shares of German long steel producer Stahlwerk Thuringen (SWT) and distributor Gallardo Sections from Spanish group Alfonso Gallardo for a EUR482.5m ($636.6m) price tag, assuming no indebtedness, the company says. CSN purchased the shares through its Spanish subsidiary CSN Steel which handles the company’s European operations. Officials at CSN did not respond to several inquiries for additional comment, while SWT officials could not immediately be reached for additional details. SWT has a 1.1m ton-per-year installed capacity, which would cement CSN’s steel division in the region. The SWT acquisition is the second announced this year by the Brazilian company. In early January, CSN announced the purchase of 14.7m shares in railroad operator MRS Logistica from the Belize-based International Investment Fund for an undisclosed sum.