In an announcement Monday, Gupta said his Liberty Steel USA has reached an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Keystone Consolidated Industries. 

Liberty, part of the Gupta family’s GFG Alliance, is acquiring Keystone Consolidated and its subsidiaries, including Keystone Steel & Wire, for US$320 million. The deal, which is being financed through a combination of equity and debt, is expected to close by year’s end. 

“As we look ahead to the future, GFG will benefit from Keystone’s century-long history, its robust operations and its reputation for producing top quality steel,” Gupta said in a statement. 

Gupta said the plan is to combine Keystone with its Georgetown mill in South Carolina, giving it 1.8 million tons of EAF melting capacity, 2 million tons of wire rod rolling capacity and a number of value-added downstream businesses. The combined company will employ more than 1,300 at sites in Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina, New Mexico, Texas and Georgia.

“Combined with Liberty Steel Georgetown, Keystone Consolidated will increase our downstream capabilities, create critical synergies, add strong management and provide better value and products for customers as we advance our U.S. steel business to our 5 million tons per year goal,” said Grant Quasha, GFG’s chief investment officer in North America.

The company said that it is planning to expand further in the U.S. and is eying additional acquisitions.  

“While the current portfolio is focused on value added long steel products, the company is actively pursuing additional acquisitions in flat products and further downstream capabilities to drive towards 5 million tons per year of capacity by 2020,” the company said.