December 30, 2009, American Metal Market, By Corinna Petry Esmark Industrial Group, a newly formed subsidiary of Esmark Inc., has acquired the assets of Excalibur Machine Co. Inc. for $3.5 million. Meadville, Pa.-based Excalibur is a precision machining and fabrication firm that supplies parts, subassemblies and material handling equipment to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the transportation, material handling, heavy construction and power generation industries. The acquisition will save about 50 jobs, including senior management, and provide working capital financing to grow the business and increase employment opportunities in the Meadville area, said James P. Bouchard, chairman of Chicago-based Esmark Inc. Esmark’s purchase prevents...

30 December, 2009

ESMARK AMTEX ACQUISITION MEDIA COVERAGE REPORT November 16, 2009, Bloomberg.com Esmark Inc., which sold its steel assets to Russia’s OAO Severstal last year for about $775 million, has re-entered the metal-distribution business with the purchase of Amtex Steel Inc. for $10 million. Amtex is a processing and distribution company based in University Park, Illinois, that focuses on flat-rolled and bar products used in light manufacturing and durable goods, closely held Esmark said today in an e-mailed statement. Esmark said it will pursue more acquisitions of steel service centers with cash on hand and aims to have $250 million in annual steel revenue by the end of 2010. Amtex,...

16 November, 2009

Nov 16 2009, Daily AMM, By Corinna Petry CHICAGO -- With its purchase of a service center near Chicago, Esmark Steel Group is looking to repeat the formula that worked so well earlier this decade—acquiring Midwest companies primarily focused on cold-rolled and coated sheet products, according to Thomas Modrowski, the company’s chief executive officer. The division of Chicago’s Esmark Inc. has completed a $10- million acquisition of Amtex Steel Inc., a University Park, Ill.-based processor and distributor of flat-rolled and bar products for the light manufacturing and durable goods industries. Amtex has been renamed Chicago Steel & Iron. Esmark last month signed a letter...

16 November, 2009

May 21 2008, Financial Times, By Peter Marsh in London Severstal, Russia’s biggest steelmaker, has entered the battle to buy Esmark, a medium-sized US steel producer, underlining the continued enthusiasm for acquisitions in the sector. The Russian company yesterday said it was willing to buy Esmark for about $668m, or $17 a share. Esmark had already accepted a bid of the same value from Essar, the expansion-minded Indian steel company. Severstal hopes an agreement it has reached with the United Steelworkers union, representing workers at Esmark, will make its deal more acceptable to the company’s board and shareholders than the rival offer from Essar. The...

21 May, 2008

May 20, 2008, The Wall Street Journal, By ROBERT GUY MATTHEWS In what could escalate into a bidding war for troubled U.S. steel assets, Russia’s OAO Severstal is going after steelmaker Esmark Inc., offering $17 a share, or $1.1 billion, and the backing of the United Steelworkers, in an effort to beat out India’s Essar Steel. Essar’s earlier $17-a-share offer was rejected by the union. The latest all-cash bid pits two aggressive international steelmakers against each other as both try to gain strength in the lucrative U.S. market. Steel prices in the U.S. have been climbing and are poised to remain high,...

20 May, 2008

April 30, 2008, American Metal Market, By Scott Robertson Esmark Inc., Chicago, has agreed to be acquired by Essar Steel Holdings Ltd., Mumbai, India, in a deal that is expected to be valued at about $1.1 billion. The deal indicates that Essar outbid rival OAO Severstal, Cherepovets, Russia, which was known to be interested in acquiring Wheeling-Pittsburgh and adding the assets to its growing North American steel holdings. Severstal several weeks ago outbid Essar in its bid for the Sparrows Point, Md., mill of ArcelorMittal SA, Luxembourg. The move, which will further Essar’s presence in the North American steel market, essentially means that Essar will take over Wheeling-Pittsburgh...

30 April, 2008

January 9, 2008, Herald Star (Steubenville, Ohio), By PAUL GIANNAMORE, Business editor WHEELING — Esmark announced several management changes Tuesday afternoon as the company realigns itself following the merger of the Esmark steel services firm with Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. “This realignment is a natural outgrowth of combining Esmark’s operations with those of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. last November,” said James P. Bouchard, chairman and chief executive officer. “We’re now one company with two core business competencies. These administrative changes assign the experience and skill set of our management team to areas where their contributions are optimized.” In mill operations, David A. Luptak, who had been...

09 January, 2008

November 28, 2007, The Herald Star (Steubenville, Ohio), By PAUL GIANNAMORE, Business Editor STEUBENVILLE — A deal valued at more than $350 million has resulted in a more strongly capitalized Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., but the Bouchard brothers say work must continue toward making the company a success for years to come. James P. and Craig T. Bouchard founded their Esmark steel services firm in 2003 and have acquired 10 steel service centers and distributors since then. With the merger with Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. being wrapped up Tuesday, they have taken a major step toward making what they hope will be the fourth...

28 November, 2007

November 28, 2007, The Herald Star (Steubenville, Ohio), By PAUL GIANNAMORE, business editor PITTSBURGH — As Esmark Inc. shares began trading today on the Nasdaq market, it marked a return of a once big name to the public stock exchanges. Esmark once was a major holding company of a number of widely recognized national brands of consumer products including Playtex and Butterball turkeys and Avis car rentals. Its founder, Donald F. Kelly, is a longtime friend of James P. and Craig T. Bouchard, the founders of Esmark and the chairman and president of the new Esmark Inc. “The name is back as a publicly...

28 November, 2007

November 28, 2007, The Herald Star (Steubenville, Ohio), By PAUL GIANNAMORE, Business Editor Photo: Paul Giannamore - NEW ESMARK, NEW STOCK – James P. Bouchard looks at one of the new share certificates in the new Esmark Inc., which became the holding company owning Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. following the tally of shareholder votes Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh. The certificate features a background picture of the blast furnace at the Wheeling-Pitt Mingo Junction plant. PITTSBURGH — After more than two years of work and a year of management control, Esmark’s merger with Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. was completed in a nine-minute meeting in a...

28 November, 2007