Vallourec Shares Rise After ArcelorMittal Replaces Apollo as Top Shareholder

By Nina Kienle

Vallourec shares rose after ArcelorMittal agreed to buy Apollo Global Management's stake to become its top shareholder, a move the French manufacturing company sees as the final step in a financial restructuring launched in 2021.

At 0914 GMT on Wednesday, Vallourec shares rose 6.4% EUR15.81, taking the year-to-date gain to nearly 13%.

Vallourec said late Tuesday that ArcelorMittal agreed to purchase 65.2 million shares currently held by Apollo-managed funds for 955 million euros ($1.04 billion), or a per-share price of EUR14.64. This marks Vallourec's final step in its financial restructuring first initiated in 2021, it said.

With the closing of the sale, ArcelorMittal will hold 28.4% of the voting rights, as well as 27.5% of the share capital, Vallourec said.

ArcelorMittal said separately that it doesn't plan to launch a voluntary tender offer for the remaining shares over the next months. The company said its acquisition of a strategic stake in Vallourec was an opportunity to increase its exposure to the tubular market, which it sees as attractive.

Vallourec reiterated its outlook given at fourth-quarter results and expects strong earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization generation for 2024 on robust tubes pricing.

Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2024 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)

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