US Steel has wrapped up its on-going acquisition of mini-mill producer Big River Steel for $774 million in cash, Kallanish reports.

The company had previously acquired a 49.9% stake in the mini-mill in October for $700m. Big River recently started up and commissioned its Phase II expansion, which brings the Osceola, Arkansas-based mill’s capacity to 3.3 million short tons/year.

The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2021.

“For months, I’ve said that we can’t get to the future fast enough,” says US Steel chief executive David Burritt. “Today, I can say the future is now. We are acquiring Big River Steel, the cornerstone of our ‘Best of Both’ strategy. With Big River Steel, we can offer customers the high performance, innovative steel products they expect from US Steel’s scientists and application engineers made through a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable and efficient mini mill process.”

Big River ceo David Stickler says his relatively new mill will lend US Steel a technological edge in the marketplace.

“Being an entrepreneurial disrupter is in our DNA and I’m excited about the possibilities we have already demonstrated by leveraging US Steel’s industry-leading research and development capabilities,” he observes. “I can’t wait to show the world what the ‘Best of Both’ truly means.”