ArcelorMittal & SA's IDC close in on $610 m deal

South Africa's biggest development-finance institution-Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)-reached an initial agreement with ArcelorMittal SA known as AMSA locally) to take over the steel giant's South African unit in a deal worth about $610 million, sources said.

The transaction would mark one of the South African government's biggest industrial interventions in years and effectively place a key industrial asset under the control of the state-owned IDC.

The aim is to conclude the deal, which will be subject to a shareholder vote, by the end of the year.


Shares in AMSA surged as much as 21%, the most since September last year, in Johannesburg trading.

The takeover of South Africa's largest steelmaker will bring to an end negotiations that began in November 2023, when AMSA announced it planned to shut two steel mills that produce grades that are crucial to the country's key automotive and mining industries.