ISG acquires Weirton.

International Steel Group Inc. (ISG), Richfield, Ohio, has apparently made a successful bid for bankrupt Weirton Steel Corp. of Weirton, W. Va.

According to an AP report, Weirton's board of directors has accepted a $225 million buyout offer from ISG, adding another integrated steel mill complex to ISG's stable.

Formerly owned by its employees, Weirton Steel has been mired in a cycle of layoffs and bridge loans in recent years.

If the deal is completed, ISG will take possession of Weirton's tin mill, considered to be one of the largest in the U.S. Under the arrangement, layoffs already announced by Weirton will remain in effect and another 300 layoffs will also be likely, according to the AP report.

ISG's operating units will now include the mills operated by the former LTV Corp. of Cleveland, as well as those acquired from the former Bethlehem Steel and Acme Metals companies.

In a news release, Weirton Steel CEO D. Leonard Wise referred to the ISG purchase a good outcome for the company, its employees and the community of Weirton. "Our goal has been to secure the best possible solution for all of our stakeholders and to maintain a steel operation in Weirton," he remarked. "We believe ISG provides the answer."

Weirton will reportedly file complete details of ISG's offer with its Bankruptcy Court judge, who will provide a month-long window to accept and consider other bids for Weirton's assets.

ISG has also announced that it will re-start a blast furnace and a steel caster in Cleveland that have been idle since the summer of 2001. The company cites expected continued strong demand for steel as its reason to re-start the production facilities and re-hire some 140 Cleveland workers.

The furnace and caster are located near existing ISG production lines, and are part of the former LTV steelmaking complex in Cleveland.

According to a report in the Plain Dealer of Cleveland, ISG will invest some $10 million to restart the idled equipment, which will produce steel slabs. Production may start as soon as May, with the caster able to make some 60,000 tons of steel slabs each month.

The re-start will help ISG continue to boost its production, according to CEO Rodney Mott, who has predicted ISG will ship between 14 million and 15 million tons of finished steel this year, up from 10.4 million tons in 2003. ISG has also continued to raise the prices of its products, often taking the form of "raw materials surcharges."