Michigan steel mill and iron mines would merge under proposed deal

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An iron ore mining company is announcing its plan to purchase a steelmaker, both with ties to Michigan. It’s being described as a vertical merger of two Ohio-based companies with significant operations in the Great Lakes area. Cleveland-Cliffs is set to acquire AK Steel, who owns and operates a steel mill inside the Rouge complex in Dearborn. Cliffs is North America’s largest producer of iron ore pellets and owns the Tilden and shuttered Empire mines in the Upper Peninsula’s Marquette County. AK Steel is a leading producer of metal for the automotive industry. The $1.1 billion deal is expected to close in the first half of 2020 pending shareholder approval.

 

A freighter at Marquette’s Iron Ore docks, owned by Cleveland-Cliffs