Dec. 18, 2006 — Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. confirmed CSN's announcement that it has terminated the merger agreement dated October 24, 2006, between CSN and Wheeling-Pittsburgh.

“Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. appreciates the hard work and interest showed by CSN to improve the prospects of Wheeling-Pitt,” commented Wheeling-Pittsburgh Chairman and CEO James P. Bouchard. “CSN will continue to be a valuable customer and supplier of Wheeling-Pitt in the near term, and we believe will also be an important commercial partner to us as we achieve our vision for the future.”

Wheeling-Pittsburgh was organized as a Delaware corporation on June 27, 1920 under the name Wheeling Steel Corp. Its headquarters is located in Wheeling, W.Va., with major production facilities in the Upper Ohio and Monongahela valleys. Wheeling-Pittsburgh is a holding company that, together with its several subsidiaries and joint ventures, produces steel and steel products using both integrated and electric arc furnace technology. The Company has slab making production capacity of 2.8 million tons and hot rolling capacity of 3.4 million tons. Approximately 65% of its sales are comprised of high value-added products.