A pair of global steel manufacturers have walked away from a nearly half-billion dollar deal after federal antitrust officials raised objections.
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Tenaris, a global steel giant based in Luxembourg, last year announced plans to acquire a subsidiary of Austria’s Benteler that operates an advanced steel and tube production plant in Shreveport, Louisiana. Tenaris hoped that the deal for Benteler Steel & Tube Manufacturing would bolster both its production range and its U.S. manufacturing footprint.
U.S. antitrust officials, however, raised concerns about the proposal, and Tenaris announced over the weekend that Benteler North America had terminated the deal.
Regulators at the Department of Justice said that the transaction would have cemented Tenaris as the “undisputed dominant player” in the already concentrated market for seamless tubing and production casing — two types of steel pipe used in oil and gas extraction. DOJ officials said the proposal threatened to raise prices in the market while reducing both quality and innovation.
Benteler said in a statement that the facility is one of the most modern and efficient steel plants in North America, and that retaining it would allow the company to “exploit its full potential” — particularly after a banner year for oil and gas producers.
