February 27: Arcelor Mittal will have to sell its US tin mill at Sparrows Point, near Baltimore, following a ruling by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
The decision will come as a disappointment to Chicago-based steel services company Esmark, which was planning to buy Arcelor Mittal’s other tin mill in the US, at Weirton in West Virginia.
Arcelor Mittal was awaiting the decision of the DoJ to sell either Weirton or Sparrows Point in order to satisfy the antitrust concerns raised by its ongoing merger with Arcelor in Europe. The Department said the sale of Sparrows Point was the best way to prevent a monopoly on the eastern US tinplate market.