Mishawaka, Ind.-based National Steel has been provided in principle with a $450 million debtor-in-possession facility by a group of lenders after filing for Chapter 11. Terry Fahn, a spokesman for National Steel, said Citibank, CIT Group, Heller Financial, Fleet Capital, GMAC and Fuji Bank are among the lending group. The banks are part of the pre-petition facility, he added. Hisashi Tanaka, chairman and ceo, said in a statement that the "historically low steel prices and a weak economy impeded the company's ability to service its debt and make investments in the business necessary for continued growth."
National Steel is the latest of more than 28 American steel companies to seek bankruptcy protection since late 1997, as the U.S. industry fights to survive what it perceives as a flood of cheap foreign steel. The Bush administration has announced a series of tariffs to help protect the ailing industry.