(Jan 7): BlueScope Steel Ltd rejected an US$8.8 billion takeover bid by US steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc and Australian conglomerate SGH Ltd.
The company’s board unanimously decided the offer “very significantly” undervalued BlueScope, it said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 7). The offer fails to adequately recognise the value of BlueScope’s assets and comes at a time of lower steel spreads in Asia, the Australian company said.
“Let me be clear — this proposal was an attempt to take BlueScope from its shareholders on the cheap. It drastically undervalued our world-class assets, our growth momentum and our future — and the Board will not let that happen,” BlueScope chair Jane McAloon said in the statement.
The decision is a blow to the ambitions of Steel Dynamics, which had made several previous offers for BlueScope’s North American plants, as it seeks to benefit from steep tariffs imposed by the Trump administration to shield US producers.
Steel Dynamics and SGH — controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes — offered A$30 per share for the Australian steelmaker. The US buyer would have taken over the North American facilities and SGH would have retained the remainder if the takeover proposal had been accepted.
BlueScope previously considered and unanimously turned down three separate unsolicited approaches, according to the statement.
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In early 2025, Steel Dynamics had offered to acquire all of BlueScope, retain its North American operations and distribute the non-North American assets to shareholders, valuing North America at A$24 per share, BlueScope said, adding that it had declined the offer for undervaluing its future prospects, with regulatory risks also flagged.
“This is the fourth time we’ve said no, and the answer remained the same — BlueScope is worth considerably more than what was on the table,” McAloon said.
BlueScope’s significant presence in North America means it has been viewed as a potential takeover target for some time, further intensifying when the Trump administration imposed steep tariffs on steel to shield US producers.
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The operations there accounted for about 45% of its revenue in its 2025 financial year. The company owns a steel mill in Ohio, about 80 miles from a Steel Dynamics-owned operation, as well as a building products business.
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