EXHIBIT 99.1
WHEELING-PITTSBURGH STEEL'S REVISED $250 MILLION
LOAN GUARANTEE APPLICATION IS APPROVED.
New York-WHX Corp. (NYSE: WHX)
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WHEELING, W.V., March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel
Corporation today announced that its revised $250 million loan guarantee
application has been approved by the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Board. The
announcement comes less than a month after the company's original application
was rejected. The revised application included substantial additional
contributions from company creditors, suppliers, and the states of West Virginia
and Ohio.
"Approval of the loan guarantee is a milestone event for the company and
its employees," said James G. Bradley, President and CEO. "We have worked long
and hard developing a plan that will make Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel competitive
over the long-term. I would like to thank those who contributed to our revised
application. Without their help, we could not have successfully amended our
application. I would also like to thank the members of the Emergency Steel Loan
Guarantee Board for expeditiously reviewing the new information."
The guaranteed $250 million loan will be used to finance
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel's emergence from bankruptcy protection. It will also
fund the company's strategic plan, which calls for investments in
state-of-the-art technology that will improve its manufacturing efficiency.
A major component of the company's plan of reorganization remains the
installation of a $110 million electric arc furnace (EAF). The EAF would replace
one of the company's two operating blast furnaces. An EAF typically uses
recycled scrap steel and scrap alternatives as 100 percent of its feedstock.
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, however, will have the capability to feed both scrap
and liquid iron from its remaining blast furnace into its EAF.
"The Byrd Bill loan guarantee is the foundation on which
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel will build its future," Bradley said. "I have
confidence that our new manufacturing configuration, when combined with the
determination and skill of our employees, will keep steel manufacturing in the
Upper Ohio Valley for years to come.
"Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel has been through tough times since it filed for
bankruptcy protection in November 2000. Our employees, though, have been
tougher. I am gratified by how much we have been able to accomplish when we
closed ranks and worked together to ensure the survival of this great company,"
Bradley said. "We will work to keep that spirit alive as we transform this
company into a competitive steel manufacturing and metal products company."
Bradley noted that the company received strong support from the political
leadership of West Virginia and Ohio for its loan guarantee application.
"Without the leadership of Sen. Robert Byrd, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel's
3,800 employees would be facing a bleak future," Bradley noted. "By creating and
fighting for the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program, Sen. Byrd has given
this company and its workers the opportunity to build a future for themselves
and for the communities in which they live and work."
Bradley also praised the support of Sen. Jay Rockefeller, West Virginia
Governor Bob Wise and Ohio Governor Bob Taft.
"Sen Rockefeller has aggressively supported the company throughout its
bankruptcy proceedings and has been an unflinching ally," Bradley said. "Gov.
Wise and Gov. Taft played critical roles during the process of putting together
revisions of our Byrd Bill application. In addition, Sen George Voinovich, Sen.
Mike DeWine, Rep. Alan Mollohan, Rep. Bob Ney and Rep. Ted Strickland have
consistently demonstrated their support of our loan guarantee application."
Others who have supported the company's application include West Virginia
Representatives Nick Rahall and Shelly Moore Capito.
The Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program provides a minimum 85 percent
federal loan guarantee for the lender. In addition to the federal loan
guarantee, the states of Ohio and West Virginia have agreed to provide financing
of $12 million and $15 million, respectively, as part of the loan package.
Suppliers have agreed to finance up to an additional $8 million of the
non-guaranteed portion of the loan.
Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC") originally filed the application on behalf of
the company in September 2002. RBC Capital Markets, the corporate investment
banking arm of RBC, will structure and arrange the loan, with RBC Dain Rauscher
acting as advisor to the company in connection with its restructuring.
Wheeling-Pittsburgh is the nation's eighth largest domestic steel producer.
Statements in this release that express a belief, expectation or intention,
as well as those which are not historical fact, are forward looking. They
involve a number of risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to
differ materially from such forward looking statements. For more information
about these risks and uncertainties, please refer to Wheeling-Pittsburgh
Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
