Globe and Mail – Algoma Steel Inc. ended a nasty battle with a New York hedge fund Tuesday by agreeing to pay a $200-million special dividend, appoint new directors and continue to pursue a potential sale or merger.
The truce with Paulson & Co. Inc., announced late Tuesday, means Algoma’s largest shareholder has withdrawn its request for a special meeting of shareholders, where it sought to throw out most of the steel maker’s board.
The deal came together during the past two days, sources said, when Algoma executives were in New York meeting with investors and paid a visit to Paulson’s head office.
The steel company, Canada’s third-largest integrated producer, said it reached “a greater level of certainty†about its future cash position amid declining natural gas prices, the growing prospect for moderate increases in iron ore prices this year  instead of jumps in the 75-per-cent range  and the current and short-term outlook for steel prices.
