MOSCOW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Rouge Industries Inc. , parent of Rouge Steel, has announced it will be acquired by Russia's steel producer Severstal for around $215 million.
In a press release posted on RPNewswire overnight the company, which has filed for bankruptcy in the United States, said it planned to complete the transaction before February 2004.
Rouge, the in-house steelmaking unit for Ford Motor Co. until 1989, said the deal was subject to bankruptcy court approval as well as a series of other conditions, including a new collective bargaining agreement with trade unions. Severstal, based in the town of Cherepovets north of Moscow, was not available for comment.
If the sale goes through, it would be the Russian company's first investment in the U.S. steel industry. Severstal is one of Russia's top three steel producers.