BlueScope board rejects $13 billion offer from Stokes-US steelmaker
'BlueScope is worth considerably more than what was on the table'
Board chair Jane McAloon at the 2025 AGM at Novotel Northbeach, Wollongong. Pic via BlueScope
BlueScope Steel has rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal that would have seen the Illawarra’s largest industrial employer acquired by an Australian-US consortium.
The board confirmed it received a non-binding, indicative and conditional proposal from SGH Limited and US-based Steel Dynamics to acquire all BlueScope shares via a scheme of arrangement at $30 per share, less the value of any dividends paid before completion.
After assessing the proposal, the board unanimously decided it significantly undervalued the company and was not in the interests of shareholders.
Chair Jane McAloon said the proposal failed to reflect the value of BlueScope’s assets, performance and future earnings capacity.
“This is the fourth time we have said no, and the answer remains the same,” she said. “BlueScope is worth considerably more than what was on the table.”
While pitched at $30 a share, BlueScope noted the effective value would be lower once future dividends were deducted and the extended timeframe required to complete any transaction was factored in. The proposal was also subject to extensive conditions, including exclusive due diligence and the securing of significant debt financing.
The board pointed to BlueScope’s post-restructure performance as central to its decision. Since completing its restructure in FY2017, the company has invested more than $3.7 billion in growth projects, delivered over $3.8 billion in shareholder returns, and achieved an average return on invested capital of 18 per cent.
McAloon said the board remained confident in the company’s trajectory under incoming managing director and chief executive Tania Archibald (pictured below with outgoing CEO Mark Vassella).
The board also cited external and internal factors it believes the proposal did not adequately recognise. These include the current cycle of lower steel spreads in Asia, with BlueScope estimating that a return to historical average steel spreads and foreign exchange rates could lift earnings before interest and tax by between $400 million and $900 million annually compared with FY2025.
Additional value drivers highlighted by the company include accelerating free cash flow as its $2.3 billion capital program concludes, a targeted $500 million per annum earnings uplift from growth initiatives already underway, and $200 million in cost and productivity improvements expected in FY2026.