Lakeside Steel Inc said that a potential unnamed buyer of the company has dropped its offer price for the Ontario steelmaker by 25%. The company said that the offer on the table is now 30 cents per share or roughly USD 58 million, a drop of 10 cents per share or USD 19.5 million less than the previous bid.

Lakeside said its board has appointed a special committee of independent directors to review the proposed offer. The company also said that it has extended a period of exclusivity that had been granted to the potential buyer that was to have expired Monday.

The extension gives the unidentified potential purchaser an additional 10 days to complete its due diligence and finalize a deal. Previously, the bidder had made an offer of 40 cents per share or about USD 77.5 million.

Lakeside makes steel pipes and tubing used in the oil and gas industry. It has factories in the Niagara region city of Welland, Texas and Alabama.

(Sourced from Canadian Press)