Nippon Steel to take control of smaller rival as supply glut bites

Tokyo

JAPAN'S top steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp unveiled a plan on Monday to take control of fourth-ranked rival Nisshin Steel and trim some of their combined steel output in the face of a global supply glut.

A deal would be the latest in a series of consolidations and plant closures as producers worldwide face a slump in prices due to falling demand and competition from surging Chinese steel exports.

Nippon Steel, which already holds 8.3 per cent of Nisshin, said that the two firms struck a memorandum of understanding on Monday to turn Nisshin into a subsidiary. …