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Library picture of São Paulo, where Votorantim Siderurgia is headquartered. The steelmaker’s plan to merge its Brazil operations with those of Luxembourg’s ArcelorMittal has hit a regulatory roadblock. Photo credit: Rafael Vianna Croffi (CC BY 2.0) 

Seeking Alpha, an investment website, reported the development on 17 January, citing the Reuters news agency and Valor Economico, Brazil’s largest financial newspaper.

The two firms announced in February 2017 that they would combine their Brazilian long steel businesses, with Votorantim Siderurgia becoming a unit of ArcelorMittal Brazil.

However, in September, a Cade panel argued that “a tie-up between two of Brazil’s three biggest long steelmakers would hurt competition,” according to Seeking Alpha.

SteelGuru, an industry website, said on 18 January:

“The paper did not specify which assets Cade was targeting, or which ones the companies have proposed to sell.”

Both ArcelorMittal and Votorantim Siderurgia, SteelGuru stated, were “confident” the deal would go through.