Brazil’s biggest diversified steelmaking group, will start a gradual spin-off of its main business divisions with an initial public offering of its iron ore unit in a bid to increase the value of the group’s assets, Chief Executive Benjamin Steinbruch said on Tuesday.

CSN will start with a share offering of the Casa de Pedra mining unit, which may start in April and is expected to be concluded by the end of June, Steinbruch said.

The company could also sell stakes in its cement, steelmaking, energy and logistics units to investors and list them separately, he added.

The plan could help CSN fetch a better value for its business, helping Steinbruch raise money for acquisitions outside Brazil.

The break-up of the conglomerate, which was born after the privatization of steelmaker CSN in 1994, signals Steinbruch’s belief that flexibility could help all the units capture market share and attain cost efficiency more rapidly.
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