WARREN - After a week's delay, the auction of RG Steel's Warren operations is slated for this morning.
The bankrupt steelmaker's Sparrows Point, Md., site also is on the block.
The sale of the operations was originally slated for last week but postponed until today due to the involvement of a "stalking horse," or primary bidder.
"The stalking horse bidding process has been extended for an additional week for the Sparrows Point plant and the Warren plant," Joe Rosel, president of USW Local 9477 at Sparrows Point, told members in an email last week.
RG Steel LLC, which owns the 1,235-worker Warren mill and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 31, stated it could not overcome the deterioration of the steel market and would sell off the three plants it bought last year from Russian steelmaker Severstal for $1.2 billion.
Three other sites were auctioned last week.
Wheeling businessman Quay Mull is the apparent new owner of RG Steel's Martins Ferry plant. Esmark was the successful bidder for the purchase of RG Steel's Yorkville plant, which sold for a reported $4.7 million.
Frontier Steel bought RG's Mingo Junction facility for $20 million and Nucor Steel purchased equipment only from RG's Wheeling Corrugating
There were no bids for RG's Wheeling headquarters or the remaining 50 percent of the Follansbee coke plant, according to reports.
None of the sales are deemed final until approved in federal bankruptcy court by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey.
A hearing on the RG Steel sales resulting from last week's auction is set for Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.