CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A subsidiary of the Argentine-Italian conglomerate Techint announced Thursday that it has agreed to turn over its 59.7 percent share in steel maker Sidor to Venezuela for $1.97 billion.
Venezuelan state holding company Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana paid $400 million of the negotiated price on Thursday, and will pay the rest according to two separate payment plans, Ternium SA said in a statement.
Of the remaining cost, Ternium said $945 million will be paid in six equal quarterly installments. The price of the rest, to be paid in October 2010, will be adjusted based on the cost of benchmark light, sweet crude.
President Hugo Chavez announced in May that his government would take control of Sidor, amid a worker conflict over the negotiation of a collective contract.
Ternium had since been locked in negotiations with the government over a payment plan. Chavez said in January that the group was asking $4 billion for its shares in Sidor.
The Venezuelan government, which holds a 20 percent share in the company, will now have a 79.7 percent stake in Sidor. The remaining 20 percent will remain in the hands of the company's workers and former employees.
Representatives of Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana did not respond to telephone calls seeking comment on Thursday.
Chavez's government has nationalized major players in the communications, electricity, and cement sectors, as well as four major oil projects, in the past two years.
