Nippon Steel Plans $1.9 Billion Asset Sale

Nippon Steel Corp. intends to sell of 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in assets over the next two years to help it buy a 50% stake in Indian steelmaker Essar Steel India Ltd.

The company and Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA plan to split the agreed purchase price of 420 billion rupees ($6.1 billion) and operate Essar’s giant mill in Gujarat as a 50:50 joint venture. The deal is expected to be finalized by next spring.

Nippon Steel’s new divestitures will follow the company’s sale of 93 billion yen ($861 million) in shareholdings in fiscal 2018, the Nikkei reports. Those sales included Nippon Steel’s entire stakes in Bridgestone and Subaru.

The giant steelmaker current holds investments in 345 companies, down 30% from six years ago. Among the company largest remaining investments are Toyota (71 billion yen), Suzuki (38 billion yen) and Sumitomo (14 billion).