Brazil Steelmaker Plans US$616M German Steel Mill Sale
BRAZIL · BUSINESS
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy and a major steel and iron ore producer, with several companies whose shares also trade in New York.
- —What happened Steel and mining group CSN signed binding terms on Friday 9 October to sell its German steel mill, Stahlwerk Thüringen, to Spain’s Megasa group.
- —The price The terms value the German mill at €550 million (about US$616 million) as an enterprise value, before adjustments.
- —Why it matters CSN’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and the company calls the sale another step in its plan to cut debt.
- —The debt CSN reported net debt of R$42.1 billion (about US$8.4 billion) at the end of June, or 3.49 times a year of operating profit.
- —Still open Final contracts are not signed yet; the parties have up to 10 weeks of exclusive talks, and the deal carries customary conditions.
Brazilian steelmaker CSN has agreed binding terms to sell its German steel mill to Spain’s Megasa at a value of €550 million (about US$616 million). CSN, short for Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (National Steel Company), disclosed the German steel mill deal in a securities filing dated Friday 9 October.
For American investors the deal matters because CSN’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SID. The company says the sale of Stahlwerk Thüringen, its long-steel plant in eastern Germany, is meant to bring down its heavy debt.
What CSN Agreed on Friday
CSN filed a material fact, a mandatory investor notice, with the CVM, Brazil’s securities regulator and counterpart of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The notice is dated São Paulo, 9 October 2026, and is signed by chief financial officer Antonio Marco Campos Rabello.
The notice reached the CVM at 6 p.m. Brasília time on Friday. That was 5 p.m. in New York, an hour after the New York Stock Exchange closed.
CSN and its Spanish subsidiary CSN Steel, which holds the group’s European operating assets, signed the binding term sheet with Bipadosa. Bipadosa is the holding company that controls the Megasa steel group.
A term sheet sets out the main conditions of a deal before the full contracts are written. This one covers the sale of all shares in Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH, known as SWT.
The terms give Megasa up to 10 weeks of exclusivity and put the enterprise value at €550 million (about US$616 million), subject to adjustments. Enterprise value prices the whole business, before the deductions for debt and cash that set what a seller actually receives.
Why CSN Is Selling the German Steel Mill
CSN says the deal follows a long negotiation and fits its moves since January to settle its capital structure for good. The company describes the potential sale as another important step in a divestment programme aimed at reducing its debt level.
The numbers explain the pressure. CSN’s results for April to June 2026, published on Wednesday 12 August, showed consolidated net debt of R$42.1 billion (about US$8.4 billion) on 30 June.
That debt equalled 3.49 times the company’s adjusted operating profit (EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) over the previous 12 months. CSN’s management wrote that it remains fully committed to fixing the group’s capital structure by pushing ahead with asset sales and stretching out its debt.
Part of that debt is in US dollars, which CSN matches against its dollar export income through hedge accounting, the same report says. For background, see CSN’s cash needs through 2030.
In January, CSN’s board approved selling major assets to cut debt by R$15 billion (about US$3.0 billion) to R$18 billion (about US$3.6 billion). The plan aims to double EBITDA within eight years and bring net debt down to about one year of EBITDA.
In August, CSN said it had received binding offers for its cement arm, CSN Cimentos, under the same programme. It has not announced a buyer for that unit since.
All dollar figures use about 0.89 euros and 5.01 reais to the US dollar on 10 October 2026.
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The German Mill and Its Spanish Buyer
The German steel mill, SWT, is a long-steel producer in Unterwellenborn, in the eastern state of Thuringia. Long steel covers beams, bars and sections used in buildings and bridges, rather than the flat sheets used in cars and appliances.
The plant specialises in structural sections and has capacity to make 1.1 million tonnes of steel a year, according to the filing. CSN bought it in 2012 to widen its product range and geographic reach and to strengthen its long-steel business.
SWT has been busy. In the April to June quarter it sold 205,000 tonnes, its best quarter since early 2022, CSN’s results show.
Megasa, the buyer, is a long-established Spanish industrial group that makes long steel in Europe. It has plants in Spain, Portugal and France, the filing says.
What It Means for You
If you hold CSN’s American depositary receipts, the German steel mill sale is a step toward the lower debt CSN has promised. ADRs are certificates that let US investors buy shares of foreign companies on a US exchange.
The sale covers only the German plant, so CSN’s steel and iron ore operations in Brazil are not part of it. For US steel buyers, the deal changes the owner of one European long-steel mill, not CSN’s Brazilian supply.
The deal does not mean CSN’s debt problem is solved. Even at the full €550 million, the price equals only about 7% of its net debt of R$42.1 billion (about US$8.4 billion).
What Is Not Known
The filing does not say how much cash CSN will receive for the German steel mill once the price is adjusted. It also gives no date for signing the final contracts or closing the sale.
The notice does not say whether the deal needs approval from competition authorities in Europe, beyond the customary conditions in the term sheet. It also does not say how Megasa will pay for the mill.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CSN?
Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional is a Brazilian steel, iron ore mining, cement and logistics group based in São Paulo. Its shares trade on B3, the São Paulo stock exchange, and in New York under the ticker SID.
How much is the German steel mill deal worth?
The binding terms value Stahlwerk Thüringen at €550 million, or about US$616 million, as an enterprise value. That figure is subject to adjustments, so the cash CSN receives may differ.
Is the German steel mill sale final?
No. CSN and Megasa signed a binding term sheet on 9 October, which gives Megasa up to 10 weeks of exclusive talks. The sale still needs final contracts and must meet customary conditions.
Why is CSN selling assets?
CSN says the sale is part of a divestment programme to reduce its debt. It reported net debt of R$42.1 billion (about US$8.4 billion) at the end of June 2026.
Sources: Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, material fact on the sale of Stahlwerk Thüringen (CVM filing, Portuguese and English), 9 October 2026; Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, material fact on its divestment plan (CVM filing), 15 January 2026; Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, material fact on binding offers for CSN Cimentos (CVM filing), 10 August 2026; Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, results release for the second quarter of 2026, 12 August 2026; CSN investor relations, 10 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief