Steelmaker unveils share issue to reduce debt to $17bn

The company said yesterday the issue, the exact make-up of which has yet to be determined, would help to reduce its net debt to about $17bn by the end of June, from an expected $22bn at the end of 2012.

Chairman and chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said the new issue, along with asset disposals, a planned reduction in dividends and cost savings would bring forward the achievement of a medium-term debt target of $15bn.

Analyst Maarten Bakker of ABN Amro in Amsterdam said the combination of measures should ensure ArcelorMittal reached this target.

“It looks to be enough to me, $15bn net debt seems even on the conservative side on the longer-term view, but it seems an appropriate measure in my view, given the fact that the market has declined structurally in Europe,” he said.

Seth Rosenfeld, analyst at Jefferies in London, said the move was painful in the short term, but should help ArcelorMittal put the debt problem behind it this year.

He added the share sell-off was to be expected, but was not dramatic, given a 16 per cent recovery from late November until Tuesday, with investors now locking in gains.

“Many investors seem to recognise that much of the positive sentiment behind the steel sector as a whole is gradually fading as iron ore prices have likely topped out and steel price increases may decelerate moving through the first quarter,” he said.

ArcelorMittal said the mandatory convertible subordinated notes would have a maturity of three years and pay a coupon in the range of 5.875 to 6.375 per cent. The Mittal family intends to pump $600m into the new shares and notes.

The group, formed in 2006 when Mittal’s steel business bought European peer Arcelor, last month wrote down the value of its European business by $4.3bn following an 8 per cent slump in European demand in 2012 and no sign of a quick recovery.