Billionaire Stokes stalks BlueScope with new $15b offer
BlueScope’s board said it would consider a new bid for the group after rejected suitors Kerry Stokes SGH and US group Steel Dynamics came back with a higher offer valuing the steelmaker at $15 billion.
On Wednesday, BlueScope confirmed it had received another “unsolicited, non-binding, indicative and conditional takeover offer” from suitors in what it described as a “best and final” offer worth $32.35 per share.
“As part of the evaluation, BlueScope’s Board of Directors will evaluate the proposal regarding the underlying value of the Company, along with the conditionality and viability of the proposal,” BlueScope said in a statement.
“The board unanimously rejected the consortium’s previous offer on the grounds that it significantly undervalued BlueScope, as set out in its statement to the ASX on 7 January 2026.”
The company rejected a $30-per-share offer made public in January and confirmed that BlueScope had received three previous offers from Steel Dynamics, which runs its profitable steel business in North America and generates most of its earnings.
SGH will own BlueScope’s Australian business, including the Port Kembla steel works.
RBC analyst Owen Birrell said of the new offer: “While SGH/Steel Dynamics views the offer as ‘compelling value’, our view is that at the $34/share (pre-dividend) price point it serves as a tool to put pressure on the Bluescope board and allow SGH/Steel Dynamics to conduct due diligence rather than a ‘knock-out’ offer.”
“We have previously stated that our mid-cycle implied value is in the middle of the $30/share range and that an offering needs to be ‘at least’ at that level to be successful.”
This week, BlueScope reported December profits rose 81 percent to $558 million after President Donald Trump increased US steel tariffs, leading to “stronger US steel spreads” for products produced in the US.
This offset the weak performance of domestic steel production in Australia and Asia, which competed with China’s overproduction.
BlueScope CEO Tania Archibald told Bloomberg TV following the company’s half-year results: “We must always evaluate and consider any proposal that may come our way, and we are always open to any option that will create value for our shareholders.”
As part of its defense against suitors, BlueScope announced it will distribute $3 per share to investors this calendar year through a special dividend of $1 per share, $1.30 per share on ongoing dividends, and a $310 million market buyback worth about 70 cents per share.
Bluescope shares rose to $29.67 on Wednesday.
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Colin Kruger is senior business correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.Connect via email.
