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Aug. 31, 2016 Castle Divests Interest in Kreher Steel A.M. Castle & Co., Oak Brook, Ill., will sell its 50 percent joint venture ownership in Kreher Steel to partner Duferco Steel, Inc. Upon completion, Duferco will be the 100 percent owner of Kreher, a full-line distributor of carbon, alloy, stainless bar, rod and wire products based in Melrose Park, Ill. Castle will receive approximately $31.6 million from the transaction, which was expected to close at the end of August. Kreher operates 24 facilities in 14 states across the U.S. “While we have enjoyed a long-standing and valuable partnership with Duferco, Castle’s decision to divest its interest in Kreher, which has significant business in the oil and gas end market, is in line with our recent streamlined focus on the industrial and aerospace markets,” says Steve Scheinkman, president and CEO of A.M. Castle. “The sale will allow us to direct our full attention on getting closer to our customers in those end markets, growing our business and improving our profitability over the long-term.” “For our part, we are delighted to be offered this opportunity to increase our stake in Kreher,” says Matthew De Morgan, CEO of Duferco. “Castle's decision to focus more on the industrial and aerospace markets dovetails nicely with our strategy to increase our exposure to the U.S. oil and gas sector. We will fully support Kreher’s management team to continue growing the business." Duferco International Trading Holding S.A. is an international steel and steel-making raw materials commodities trading organization, with its global headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland.