AK Steel acquisition deal lauded

AK Steel has received a “Deal Maker of the Year” award from the Association for Corporate Growth for the company’s $690 million acquisition of Severstal Dearborn LLC.

The award was presented at the ACG Cincinnati chapter’s annual awards event held on May 13. ACG presented awards in five categories. AK Steel and The Kroger Co. were award winners in the category for corporations with over $1 billion in annual revenues, according to the Butler County-based steelmaker.

“The successful completion of our Dearborn acquisition in the fall of 2014 has been a transformational deal for our company. It has strengthened AK Steel as a premier North American steel manufacturer and enhanced our company’s ability to serve customers with increased size, scale and operational flexibility,” said James Wainscott, chairman, president and chief executive officer of AK Steel, in a written statement.

Wainscott added, “The Dearborn acquisition helped increase AK Steel’s revenues to about $6.5 billion in 2014. With our corporate headquarters located in West Chester, Ohio, we believe that our company’s growth will also benefit the entire southwestern Ohio region.”

The annual ACG award recognizes individuals and corporations for their pursuit of corporate growth via mergers and acquisitions along with efforts that drive continued growth and vitality of the region’s business community.

AK Steel acquired the Dearborn integrated steelmaking operations located in Dearborn, Mich., in September 2014. The deal also included the acquisition of the Mountain State Carbon cokemaking facility in Follansbee, W. Va., and ownership in three joint ventures that finish flat-rolled carbon steel products.

Read more from our interview last week with Wainscott by clicking here.