Steel crazy

Steel doesn’t bend easily, but steelmakers’ profits generally move all over the place. Until recently, that cyclicality made this capital intensive sector a no-go for private equity. But the interest of CVC, a leading European buyout house, in Boehler-Uddeholm, an Austrian producer with a E4bn price tag, shows times are changing. True, Boehler-Uddeholm is about as far from a commodity producer as any steel company can be. It gets a high portion of its profits from strong positions in highly spe...