BIRMINGHAM STEEL CORPORATION COMPLETES $150 MILLION PRIVATE DEBT PLACEMENT.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSNESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 1995--Birmingham Steel Corporation (NYSE:BIR) today announced the completion of a $150 million private placement of senior notes. The proceeds of this debt issuance will be utilized to fund the current requirements of the Company's recently announced, multi-year capital development program as well as for general corporate purposes.

The notes are unsecured and primarily consist of maturities ranging from seven to ten years, with an average maturity of 8.5 years, and contain a delayed funding provision which allows the Company to draw down the proceeds at any time through mid- December 1995. The weighted average interest rate of the notes will be 7.05 percent. NationsBanc Capital Markets, Inc. acted as placement agent for the transaction. The lending group is composed of ten institutional investors.

James A. Todd, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We were quite pleased by the reception of our debt offering within the investment community. Although we entered the marketplace seeking $125 million in senior notes, significant demand led to the oversubscribed $150 million total."

Todd continued, "This financing is an important and conservative step in the Company's capital development plan, which is aimed at substantially increasing our market share of higher-margin steel products. Our strategy of growth through product line enhancement, capacity increase and manufacturing cost reduction, will require significant capital spending over the next four years. This debt issuance represents a major portion of our external funding requirements."

Birmingham Steel operates steel mini-mills producing primarily steel reinforcing bar and merchant products, and also specializes in manufacturing high-quality rod and wire from semi- finished billets at its American Steel & Wire subsidiary. The common stock of Birmingham Steel Corporation is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BIR."

CONTACT: Birmingham Steel Corporation, Birmingham

John M. Casey, 205/970-1238