Nucor said Tuesday it will buy Canadian steel company Harris Steel Group for about $1.07 billion cash.
Harris has several business units, including the fabrication and placing of concrete reinforcing steel and the design and installation of concrete post-tensioning systems; manufacturing and distributing wire and wire products, welded wire mesh and cold finished bar; and manufacturing and distributing heavy industrial steel grating, aluminum grating and expanded metal.
The company employs approximately 3,000 people and posted revenue of about $1.19 billion and after tax earnings $72.84 million in the 12 months ending September 30, 2006.
Harris Steel's Board of Directors is unanimously recommending that its shareholders tender their shares to this offer.
"The acquisition of Harris Steel Group significantly advances Nucor's downstream growth initiatives," said Nucor Chairman and CEO, Dan DiMicco. "Harris Steel has been a strong partner of ours for almost three years, is a company that we know well, has a management team whom we respect, and will be a highly complementary fit with Nucor. Harris Steel provides Nucor with immediate and broad geographical reach and with considerable scale and growth opportunities."
