Venture Steel Acquires Olympic Steel’s Operations in Detroit for $58.4M

Venture Steel Inc., a large metal processes and distributor in Ontario with operations in Detroit, has acquired the local assets of Olympic Steel Inc., a leading national metals service center based in Cleveland.
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Olympic Steel Inc. based in Cleveland has agreed to sell its Detroit assets to Venture Steel Inc. // Courtesy of Olympic Steel Inc.
Olympic Steel Inc. based in Cleveland has agreed to sell its Detroit assets to Venture Steel Inc. // Courtesy of Olympic Steel Inc.

Venture Steel Inc., a large metal processes and distributor in Ontario with operations in Detroit, has acquired the local assets of Olympic Steel Inc., a leading national metals service center based in Cleveland.

The sale price, which exceeded the book value of the net assets sold, was $58.4 million in cash, subject to a future working capital adjustment, which is expected to increase the final sale price.

The move allows Venture Steel to better service metal consumers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The acquired facility, located at 3600 N. Military St. (near Michigan and Livernois avenues), along with Venture Steel’s existing footprint, will help the company boost its offerings to all flat rolled metal consuming market segments throughout North America.

“The team at our new Detroit facility has built a great reputation for customer service and will strengthen our reach, particularity as it relates to the automotive sector,” says Tony Kafato, president of Venture Steel. “We are excited to welcome the team members to the Venture Steel family.”

The acquisition strengthens Venture Steel’s abilities in providing just-in-time service of flat rolled products to a variety of end use customers, including automotive, construction, tubular, consumer products, and solar.

The business operates from a 250,000-square-foot facility in Detroit and services customers throughout the Midwest. The equipment includes three configured blanking presses, two slitters including a 0.375-inch by 72-inch Pro-Eco line with Kor-Flex leveling, and a Red Bud multi-blanking line with Herr Voss levelers.

The equipment is capable of processing metals ranging in thickness from 0.017 inches through 0.375 inches, as well as advanced high strength steels required by automotive OEMs and their supply chain.

“We remain focused on our long-term strategy to further diversify our business, deliver consistent profitability, and enhance shareholder value,” says Richard T. Marabito, CEO of Olympic Steel. “The proceeds from the sale of the Detroit operations will be used to reduce debt, generating greater flexibility to pursue additional acquisitions and investments in organic growth initiatives and automation.

“Our Detroit operation primarily focused on processing and distributing flat-rolled metal to domestic automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. We believe redeploying the capital from this business to higher value-added opportunities in all three of our business segments, including our growing automotive business in the southeastern United States, accelerates our drive to deliver consistently higher returns for our shareholders.”

Founded in 1954, Olympic Steel is a leading U.S. metals service center focused on the direct sale of processed carbon, coated and stainless flat-rolled sheet, coil and plate steel, aluminum, tin plate, and metal-intensive branded products. The Company’s CTI subsidiary is a leading distributor of steel tubing, bar, pipe, valves and fittings, and fabricator of value-added parts and components. Olympic Steel operates from 34 facilities in North America.

Venture Steel is a leading processor and metal supplier for flat rolled products including Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel, and Aluminum. Venture Steel is a full-service provider to metal consumers providing just-in-time supply of spot requirements or custom-tailored supply and delivery programs for contractual metal requirements.

The company also provides toll processing services for customer-owned-material, including slitting, cut-to-length, blanking, inventory management programs, storage, and logistics.