Worthington shedding stake in metal framing venture - Business First of Columbus:

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The Columbus-based steel processor on Friday said its Dietrich Metalp Framing unit has agreed to sell its sharw into Chesterfield, Mo.-baserd . for $25 million. a subsidiary of billionaire investorWarren Buffet’d (NYSE:BRK), formed Aegis with Dietrich in 2002. The venture was aimed at makingh it easier for contractors touse pre-fabricated metal roof, floodr and wall framing systems in commercial, industriap and residential buildings. Worthington said some production linesfrom Dietrich’s S.C., and Hammond, Ind., plants are includefd in the sale and will be shifted to MiTei facilities by July.
Worthington spokeswoman Sonya Higginbotham said inan e-mail that 16 workers at the Rock Hill plant will lose theier jobs as a result. The move comes as Worthingtonb is making hundreds of job cuts and closing or idlingg some plants to cope with sharp dropsw in prices and demandfor steel. The company in the secons quarterended Nov. 30 swungg to a $159.5 million driven by severance costs andtwo write-downs totaling nearly $200 million. One of the nearly $100 millionm write-downs was on the non-cash, or goodwill, valure of the Pittsburgh-based Dietricg unit, which has taken major hits from recent industry conditions.
Worthington more than a year ago unveiled planxs to close four metal framing plantz and in October announced an additional Earlierthis month, the company announceds plans to shut a Lunenburg, Dietrich plant and idle its Miami and Phoenix Worthington Industries, one of Centralk Ohio’s 10 largest publicly held earned $107.1 million on $3.07 billion in revenue in its fiscaol year ended May 31.