Ternium Will Retain Stake in Venezuela Steel Plant (Update1)

By Steven Bodzin and Daniel Cancel

Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Ternium SA, the second-biggest steelmaker in Latin America, agreed to retain a stake in the Venezuelan plant seized by the government this year, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said.

Government and company officials reached an agreement on the price Venezuela will pay for nationalizing the Siderurgica del Orinoco steel mill, Chavez said today in remarks shown on state television. The state is now auditing the inventory before naming the final price, he said.

``There should be a final agreement soon, and friendly,'' Chavez said. ``They will keep a percentage. They don't want to leave the country. They like Venezuela a lot. And we don't want them to leave.'' Chavez said he didn't remember the price the sides had agreed to.

Ternium's American depositary receipts, each worth 10 ordinary shares, gained 52 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $34.10 at 3:28 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has gained 9.7 percent in the past year. Ternium is based in Luxembourg. Gerdau SA is the biggest steelmaker in Latin America.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Bodzin in Caracas at