Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. announced completion of its offering of 70 million common shares.

Parent company Gerdau SA indirectly purchased 35 million of the offered common shares, and the remaining 35 million common shares have been purchased by an underwriting syndicate for distribution to the public. The common shares were sold in the United States and Canada at a price of $4.70 (Cdn. $5.90) per share for total gross proceeds of $329 million (Cdn. $413 million).

If the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full (for 5.25 million common shares) and Gerdau SA, as it has agreed, purchases an additional 5.25 million common shares, total gross proceeds will be approximately $378 million (Cdn. $475 million).

Gerdau Ameristeel will use the proceeds of this offering to finance its announced acquisition of North Star Steel’s four long steel product mills and four downstream facilities from Cargill, Incorporated. Proceeds will also be used to fund capital expenditures and working capital and for general corporate purposes.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. were joint book-running managers for the public offering in the United States and Canada. CIBC World Markets Corp., J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated acted as underwriters. The common shares commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange on October 15, 2004 under the symbol GNA.

The company cautions that this announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, and that there shall be no sale of these securities in any province, state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any province, state or other jurisdiction.

Gerdau Ameristeel is the second largest minimill steel producer in North America with annual manufacturing capacity of over 6.4 million tons of mill finished steel products. Through its vertically integrated network of 11 minimills (including one 50%-owned minimill), 13 scrap recycling facilities and 32 downstream operations, Gerdau Ameristeel primarily serves customers in the eastern half of North America. The company's products are generally sold to steel service centers, fabricators, or directly to original equipment manufacturers for use in a variety of industries.