A Kerry Stokes controlled consortium has moved to buy BlueScope Steel in a $13.2 billion all cash proposal that would see the group take the Australian and regional operations while US partner Steel Dynamics takes the North American assets.
BlueScope shares jumped about 20% on Tuesday after the approach became public, trading just below the $30 a share offer price.
SGH Ltd., formerly known as Seven Group Holdings acknowledged that it had made Steel Dynamics a non-binding indicative offer to purchase BlueScope through a scheme of arrangement.
The plan called for SGH to buy all of BlueScope and then sell Steel Dynamics the company’s North American operations which would include its building and coated products divisions as well as the North Star flat rolled steel mill in Ohio.
The consortium put the cash offer at $30.00 per share, valuing BlueScope equity at about $13.2 billion.
SGH said the price represented a 27% premium to BlueScope’s closing share price on 11 December 2025, the day before the proposal was submitted and would be reduced by the value of any cash dividends paid after 12 December 2025.
BlueScope confirmed it received the unsolicited proposal on 12 December and said its board, management and advisers were assessing it. The company said shareholders did not need to take any action.
In a statement, BlueScope said the offer was subject to conditions including exclusivity, due diligence and regulatory approvals as well as a unanimous board recommendation and shareholder approval.
BlueScope also noted the indicative nature of the funding support underpinning the proposal.
The steelmaker signalled it would judge the bid against what it described as the fundamental value of the business, pointing to planned cost and productivity improvements, an expected lift in cash flow as its capital program winds down and the value embedded in its landholdings.
BlueScope said it is investing $2.3 billion in projects aimed at lifting earnings, with a targeted $500 million a year in additional earnings by 2030.
The company also disclosed it had already knocked back three earlier unsolicited approaches. It said a different Steel Dynamics led consortium offered $27.50 and then $29.00 per share in late 2024 and that Steel Dynamics made another proposal in early 2025 that involved retaining North America and distributing the non North American assets to shareholders.
BlueScope said those earlier bids were rejected because they undervalued the company and carried significant execution risk around regulatory outcomes.
SGH argued the geographic split would create two businesses with clearer strategic direction. Ryan Stokes, managing director and chief executive of SGH, said in the announcement, “We believe BlueScope’s Australian business is a strong strategic fit for SGH.”
Steel Dynamics chief executive Mark Millett said, “We believe the acquisition of BlueScope’s North American Assets will be highly complementary to our existing operations.”
Both SGH and Steel Dynamics said they intended to fund their respective parts of the deal through existing cash and available debt financing and that no equity raising was expected.
Any deal would still need to clear the usual approvals on both sides of the Pacific and BlueScope’s board has made clear it will not trade away value or certainty to get a transaction done.
