Atlas Holdings has formed Orion Steel Companies and has acquired EVRAZ North America, a producer of steel products used in rail, energy, infrastructure, and industrial applications, from Russian steel and mining group Evraz. The consideration for the purchase of EVRAZ North America includes a $50 million cash payment at closing, plus up to $450 million in contingent deferred payments tied to post-closing performance.
With the closing, Orion Steel now operates through three subsidiaries: Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, Oregon-based Oregon Steel Mills, and Saskatchewan-based Interpro Pipe and Steel.
Orion produces steel rails and accessories that are used as rail fasteners, tie plates, and joints in the construction and maintenance of freight rail systems (cargo trains) and transit systems (passenger trains, subways, light rail); tubular steel products used in oil and gas drilling operations, including casing, tubing, and drill pipe; steel line pipe used to transport oil, gas, and other fluids over long distances; and structural tubing used as structural elements in construction projects.
Orion has a 44% share of the North American rail product market and accounts for about a third of large-diameter pipe production with a steelmaking capacity of 2.3 million tons and a finished steel capacity of 3.5 million tons per year.
Orion, continuing an operating strategy of EVRAZ North America, uses over 98% scrap in its products, and its Rocky Mountain Steel Mills operates the world’s largest solar-powered steel mill. Chicago-headquartered Orion has more than 3,400 employees and operates two electric arc furnace steel facilities, 12 steel product mills, and 17 scrap recycling facilities.
Leading the newly created Orion as chief executive officer is former U.S. Steel executive Doug Matthews, who succeeds Skip Herald, who will continue with Orion as a member of the company’s board of directors.
“Doug offers more than just decades of experience in operations, sales, marketing and supply chain management,” said Sam Astor, a managing partner at Atlas. “He brings a forward-thinking, hands-on approach that helped transform U.S. Steel’s commercial strategy and operations, and he has the deep belief that the heart of this business is the people on the ground, running the mills day in and day out — and he works to empower them to perform at their best.”
“As a well-capitalized strategic supplier, Orion Steel is poised to become a central player in the North American market, helping to ensure economic and security interests of the United States and Canada are advanced through significant, local production,” said Mr. Matthews. “I’ve been in this business for three decades and I am completely energized by this unique opportunity.”
North America’s steel industry is being reshaped by steep tariffs, consolidation, and sluggish global demand. Cleveland-Cliffs has been an active consolidator with the 2020 acquisitions of AK Steel for $1.1 billion and ArcelorMittal USA for $1.4 billion, and an attempted $7.3 billion bid for U.S. Steel in 2023 that was ultimately outbid by Nippon Steel.
United States tariffs on imported steel and aluminum were doubled to 50% in June 2025, reshaping trade dynamics and encouraging reshoring. Steel producers like Steel Dynamics and Gerdau have seen expanded demand in North American operations, while global producers such as ArcelorMittal have revised demand forecasts downward amid the ongoing trade tensions. United States raw steel production for the week ending August 2, 2025, rose approximately 4.5% year-on-year to 1.8 million net tons, with a capability utilization rate of 78.6%. Overall, market forecasts for the steel industry show moderate growth with a CAGR of around 2.5% through 2030. Tariffs have benefited domestic producers even as global output slows, reinforcing reshoring and integration strategies across the steel sector.
Atlas Holdings is a holding company with more than 27 platform companies operating in diverse sectors, generating over $16 billion in total revenues. With a workforce of more than 60,000 employees and more than 350 facilities worldwide, Atlas invests in sectors such as aluminum processing, automotive, building materials, food manufacturing and distribution, packaging, paper, power generation, and wood products.
In May 2025, Atlas held a first and final close of its fifth investment fund, Atlas Capital Resources V LP, at its hard cap with $6.45 billion in committed capital. The firm’s earlier fund closed in April 2021 at its hard cap of $3.1 billion. Capstone Partners and Rede Partners were the placement agents for Fund V, and Proskauer Rose provided legal services.
“For over two decades, we have invested with intense discipline in challenging situations in sectors we understand deeply, with the mindset of ‘owner/operators’, said Andrew Bursky, an Atlas co-founder and managing partner. “Our approach will not change with this next fund. We are fortunate to have continued strong support from many long-standing investment partners and to welcome many new partners from across the globe. The current environment should provide ample opportunity for Atlas-style investments, and our teams in Connecticut and London are ready to put our partners’ capital to work, side-by-side with our own.”
“The secret to our success is that we invest and operate like a diversified industrial holding company; our businesses just happen to be owned by private equity funds,” said Tim Fazio, an Atlas co-founder and managing partner. “0We have purposefully built our organization with capabilities to make our companies as great as they can be, assisting in business transformation and executing value creation initiatives. That singular focus on improving industrial businesses created the rock-solid foundation to raise a fund like this in a short window, particularly in an environment of global uncertainty and volatility.”
Atlas was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
© 2025 Private Equity Professional | August 8, 2025
