ArcelorMittal to spin off stainless steel unit

ArcelorMittal said on Wednesday it would hand out stakes in the unit to investors...

World No. 1 steelmaker ArcelorMittal,focusing its effort on expanding its mining operations,has announced a widely expected spin-off of its stainless steel division.

ArcelorMittal said on Wednesday it would hand out stakes in the unit to investors on a 1-for-20 shares basis in the first quarter of next year.

Oddo analysts valued the business at $3.4-$4.2 billion,Les Echos newspaper reported on Wednesday.

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The company said in July it was looking into spinning off the division to shareholders. The business employs around 11,000 people,about 4 percent of ArcelorMittal’s total workforce.

The Stainless Steel division’s 2009 sales were $4.2 billion,or about 7 percent of the group’s total consolidated sales.

It expected the spin-off to result in a non-cash impairment charge of about $800 million.

The division will have net debt of about $1 billion,although the divestment won’t affect ArcelorMittal’s leverage ratio,it said.

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