Mittal U.S. plant sale seen drawing bidders

NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) A Mittal Steel plant, ordered sold by U.S. authorities because of antitrust concerns, is attracting attention from several possible buyers, the company's European parent said on Wednesday.

''There are quite a few interested parties in Sparrows Point,'' Arcelor Mittal Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal told reporters in Luxembourg, where the steelmaker announced its 2006 annual earnings.

He gave no more details or say how much the Maryland plant, currently owned by Mittal's U.S. arm, might fetch.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that its sale would remedy concerns about competition arising from the combination of European-based Mittal Steel and Arcelor, to create the world's largest steelmaker.

The Wall Street Journal reported that bidders could include JSW Steel Ltd. or Ispat Industries Ltd. , or Russia's Evraz Group or OAO Severstal Group, both of which already own U.S. operations.

China's Wuhan Steel Corp. and Anshan Iron&Steel Group Corp. have cash and are considering expanding, the newspaper said. And Brazil's Companhiai Siderurgica Nacional , which failed in its attempt to buy Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp.

, was also cited as a potential buyer.

But a spokesman for Germany's ThyssenKrupp , which was unsuccessful in buying Canada's Dofasco Inc., said it has ''no interest'' in Sparrows Point.

Analyst Charles Bradford, of Bradford Research/Soleil said the selling price of Sparrows Point, which has one blast furnace and produces mostly tin-plated steel, was uncertain.

''The value is solely dependent on what it earns,'' he told Reuters. ''If it earns 0 million (per year), you could figure it will sell for five or six times that.'' Bradford said Mittal has not put a figure on the earnings at Sparrows Point, which was acquired when Mittal bought International Steel Group for .5 billion two years ago. It was previously owned by Bethlehem Steel.

''That plant has not been consistently profitable, although I understand it is doing better now,'' said Bradford, adding its equipment was suited to tin-planted steel for food and oil cans, but was not wide enough for automotive steel.

But he noted Bethlehem had invested heavily in the plant and the blast furnace, which has a capacity of 10,000 tons per day, is one of the best in the United States.

''The problem at Sparrows Point has always been manning -- there are too many people,'' Bradford said.

The Justice Department order came after Arcelor Mittal's sale of Canadian steelmaker Dofasco to Germany's ThyssenKrupp was sidelined.

ThyssenKrupp had hoped the decision might help it secure control of Dofasco. The Justice Department had said that if the Dofasco sale was not possible, Mittal would have to sell either Sparrows Point or Weirton, a mill in Weirton, West Virginia.

It said that the Sparrows Point sale was preferable to selling Weirton because it is an integrated facility and unlike Weirton, would not have to develop new sources of supply when it is separated from Mittal Steel.

The company last month announced plans to sell Weirton to privately held Esmark if the Justice Department approves.

REUTERS CS DS1153