U.S. Steel May Offer to Buy AK Steel

According to today\'s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a senior manager of U.S. Steel made a presentation at Tuesday\'s board of directors meeting in Pittsburgh about plans to make an April offer for AK Steel. Such a combination would create the world\'s sixth largest steel producer, which as a single business entity would have shipped 26.1 million tons in 2005.

The newspaper reports that spokesmen for both companies say they won\'t comment on speculation. However, analyst Chuck Bradford at Bradford Research Inc. in New York says the expected preliminary offer of $12.75 per share wouldn\'t be enough to get AK Steel\'s management in Middletown, OH, to approve the offer, but an offer closer to $18 per share might work.

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