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Cleveland Cliffs Inc. announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement with ArcelorMittal S.A., in which Cleveland-Cliffs will acquire substantially all of the operations of ArcelorMittal USA LLC and its subsidiaries for approximately $1.4 billion.

Upon closure of the transaction, Cleveland-Cliffs will be the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America with combined shipments of approximately 17 million net tons in 2019. The company will also be the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America with 28 million long tons of annual capacity.

Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman of the Board, president, and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, will lead the expanded organization. “Steelmaking is a business where production volume, operational diversification, dilution of fixed costs, and technical expertise matter above all else,” he says, “and this transaction achieves all of these. ArcelorMittal is a world-class organization that we have long admired as our customer and our partner, and we know for a fact that they have taken good care of their U.S. assets.”

“The acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA amplifies our position in the discerning automotive steel marketplace, and further improves our position in important U.S. markets such as construction, appliances, infrastructure, machinery, and equipment,” he says. “It also adds to our strong legacy raw material profile and growing finishing capabilities. The transaction will enable us to become a more efficient fully-integrated steel system, with the ability to realize all of our operational and financial goals.”