Itochu acquires 16% of Nacional Minerios

Japanese and Korean consortium announces basic agreement with CSN to acquire stake in Brazilian iron ore mining business
ITOCHU Corporation ("ITOCHU") today announced it has reached a basic agreement with Brazilian fully-integrated steel producer Companhia Siderurgica Nacional ("CSN") to acquire 16% share in CSN's wholly-owned iron ore mining and sales subsidiary, Nacional Minerios S.A. ("NAMISA"). The transaction will be executed by an investor group consisting of five Japanese steel producers (JFE Steel Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd., Kobe Steel, Ltd. and Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd.), Korean steel producer POSCO, and ITOCHU (collectively, the "Consortium"). Though the definitive agreement is yet to be signed, the Consortium is expected to acquire a 40% stake in NAMISA for approximately US$ 3,120mm (Approx. JPY 312.0bn) in total. Within the Consortium stake, ITOCHU is to invest approximately US$ 1,250mm (Approx. JPY 125.0bn), an amount equivalent to 40% of the total investment by the Consortium.NAMISA, located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, operates an iron ore project through self-owned mines and beneficiation plants. NAMISA is scheduled to sell 18mtpa of iron ore in year 2009 and expand sales amount to 38mtpa by 2013 through the course of its expansion plan. NAMISA's operation is fully integrated with railway and port facilities through long-term contracts, which provide sufficient capacity to fully cover current and future shipment needs. In particular, CSN is scheduled to transfer a 10% stake in MRS Logistica S.A. ("MRS"), a railway transportation company connecting the mines and port, to NAMISA as part of the transaction. The transfer of MRS shares into NAMISA will further ensure NAMISA's access to transportation infrastructure for the long-term participation in the project.