SGH (ASX:SGH) CEO Ryan Stokes has begun lobbying BlueScope Steel’s (ASX:BSL) largest shareholders to support a $13 billion takeover proposal that brokers and fund managers say is unlikely to succeed unless it is lifted to more than $15 billion, potentially triggering a broader bidding contest for the steelmaker.
SGH confirmed it had approached BlueScope with a plan, alongside US-based Steel Dynamics, to acquire the company and split its Australian and North American operations, arguing the businesses no longer made strategic sense together.
BlueScope later disclosed it had received a $30-a-share offer, a near 27% premium to its pre-bid price, but noted it followed several rejected approaches from Steel Dynamics over the past two years that it said undervalued the company and carried regulatory risk.