July 26, 2005 — Grupo Simec, SA de CV and Industrias CH, SA de CV (ICH) have acquired 100% of the stock of Republic Engineered Products, Inc.

With the acquisition of Republic, a leading producer of special bar quality (SBQ) steel, Simec anticipates an installed annual capacity of nearly three million tonnes of steel, making the company the largest SBQ producer in North America.

Simec expects that in the next 12 months, sales will exceed 2.7 million tonnes of finished products. The company's recent sales of SBQ represented one third of its total sales, however, as a result of the acquisition, this line of products is expected to account for 65% of Simec’s consolidated sales. The acquisition strategically positions Simec in a market that typically has less price volatility and higher margin than commodity steel products.

Simec’s revenues in the last 12 months were approximately US$600 million. The company expects that revenues will approach US$1.8 billion for the next 12 months. Simec also projects EBITDA for the next 12 months of US$270 million, an increase of almost 50% over its last 12 months’ EBITDA. The company says the increase would result not only from Republic's operations but also from synergies and economics of scale.

Republic has six production plants located in Ohio, Indiana and New York, and one facility in Ontario, Canada. Those seven plants employ more than 2,500 people and have a joint annual installed capacity of up to two million tonnes for liquid steel and approximately 1.7 million tonnes for finished steel products.

Grupo Simec, SA de CV is a subsidiary of Industrias CH, SA de CV.