Buyout firm WL Ross & Co. is in talks with lenders for a $150 million bank loan to partially fund its $325 million bid for the steelmaking assets of bankrupt LTV. Wilbur Ross, head of the firm, said a decision on the bank would be made within a week based on the interest rate, business conditions and the ratios banks are willing to work with. He declined to name the banks in with a shot of funding the deal. The acquisition, which calls for $125 million in cash and the assumption of $200 million in environmental liabilities, is being funded with $80 million of equity, while LTV's financial adviser is The Blackstone Group.
The steel industry is currently the center of attention in political and business circles. The Bush administration has slapped a 30% tariff on a range of steel imports to throw a lifeline to the struggling domestic industry.