AK Steel Enters Licensing Agreement Involving High Strength Steel Product
by David Fleschen
AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement involving its aluminized boron press hardenable steel product, ULTRALUME® PHS. This product is a high strength, high formability steel that is hot stamped into parts for the automotive industry.
Under this agreement with ArcelorMittal, AK Steel has full rights to manufacture and sell its ULTRALUME® PHS product for hot stamping and its customers are permitted to stamp and use the product in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
AK Steel will be the sole licensee, along with the licensor's subsidiaries, permitted to produce aluminized boron press hardenable steel in the United States, Canada or Mexico to be processed pursuant to ArcelorMittal’s licensed patents about the press hardening of parts made of aluminized boron high strength steel. This licensing agreement is a part of the settlement of a patent infringement case that has been pending in the Federal District Court for the District of Delaware between the parties.
AK Steel expects to significantly expand its sales of this important automotive product as a result of the dispute being resolved.
Source. AK Steel, Photo: Fotolia