The SGH boss is tilting his construction and energy assets to capitalise on the AI arms race, while hunting an alternative M&A splash as the chances of a BlueScope deal fade.
Bluescope Steel
ASX:BSL
SGH’s Ryan Stokes takes BlueScope takeover pressure public.
The sharply worded letter to SGH and Steel Dynamics wasn’t intended to be a rebuff. But whatever happens next, a transaction involving the steelmaker is now more likely.
A week after threatening to walk, SGH boss Ryan Stokes has produced a “best and final” $15 billion bid for the steelmaker, reigniting a takeover standoff that appeared to have frozen.
BlueScope has more than doubled its first-half profit and interim dividend. Its new CEO is calling it an ‘inflection point’.
In his first public remarks on Steel Dynamics’ takeover bid, CEO Mark Millett criticised BlueScope’s response to the offer and its performance in North America.
The steelmaker fired a fresh shot in its takeover defence, announcing a $1-per-share special dividend, but sources close to the bidders have dismissed the move as an act of desperation.
BlueScope’s emphatic rejection of SGH and Steel Dynamics’ bid has hardened positions. Market watchers think this may be just the start of the takeover saga.
Trump's aggressive tariffs ultimately led to the spurned $13 billion bid for BlueScope Steel. But an improved offer or a rival bid could see the price tag rise higher.
A $13 billion takeover bid for BlueScope by Indiana-based Steel Dynamics and billionaire Ryan Stokes is the talk of the ASX and will be watched closely in Canberra.
Ryan Stokes' SGH and US based Steel Dynamics are quietly confident their bid for the Australian steelmaker will avoid the wrath of the unpredictable Foreign Investment Review Board.
The final week of earnings season promises more surprise punches as CSL and James Hardie feel the pain of their US exposures.
From Bluescope to Resmed to WiseTech and Cettire, an unfolding global trade war will have far reaching implications for some of the biggest names on the ASX.
