BEIJING, March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- General Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or "the Company") (NYSE: GSI), one of China's leading non-state-owned producers of steel products and aggregators of domestic steel companies, today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has approved a new share repurchase program.
Under the terms of the newly authorized repurchase program, General Steel may repurchase up to an aggregate of 2,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock. The repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws. The program does not have an expiration date and the timing of the repurchases and the exact number of shares of common stock to be purchased will be determined by the management of the Company, in their discretion, and will depend upon market conditions and other factors. General Steel plans to fund repurchases made under this program from its available cash balance.
As of March 27, 2012, the Company had purchased 1,090,978 shares of common stock in open market transactions under the previous share repurchase program announced on December 21, 2010. Together with the previous share repurchase program and this newly announced repurchase program, the Company may repurchase up to 4 million shares of common stock.
"Demand for our steel products remains strong as China continues to invest in developing the infrastructure of its Western rural areas," said General Steel's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry Yu. "We believe our board's approval of this new share repurchase program reflects confidence in the future growth potential of our business. The current market price permits an attractive opportunity for the Company to re-invest in the Company's own stock and indicates our commitment to increasing shareholder value."
About General Steel Holdings, Inc.
General Steel Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: GSI), headquartered in Beijing, China, operates a diverse portfolio of Chinese steel companies. With 7 million metric tons of crude steel production capacity under management, its companies serve various industries and produce a variety of steel products including rebar, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. General Steel Holdings, Inc. has steel operations in Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin municipality. For more information, please visit www.gshi-steel.com.
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Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial, political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on information currently available to it. The Company cannot assure that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projections will be realized. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of inaccurate assumptions or a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere, and include: (a) those risks and uncertainties related to general economic conditions in China, including regulatory factors that may affect such economic conditions; (b) whether the Company is able to manage its planned growth efficiently and operate profitable operations, including whether its management will be able to identify, hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required personnel or that management will be able to successfully manage and exploit existing and potential market opportunities; (c) whether the Company is able to generate sufficient revenues or obtain financing to sustain and grow its operations; (d) whether the Company is able to successfully fulfill our primary requirements for cash and (e) other risks, including those disclosed in the Company's Form 10-K, filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
China
Jenny Wang
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5775-7691
Email:jenny.wang@gshi-steel.com
Wendy Sun
The Piacente Group
Tel: +86-10-6590-7991
Email: generalsteel@tpg-ir.com
US
Lee Roth
The Piacente Group
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
Email: generalsteel@tpg-ir.com
