The offer, agreed to by both parties Monday, must now meet the approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Waites.

An official announcement of the deal is expected to be made today. Company officials declined to comment Monday, though details of the offer were filed in a motion with the bankruptcy court.

The action could mean the return of hundreds of jobs to the struggling seaport city of Georgetown, hit especially hard by a decline in manufacturing in recent years.

Production at the plant, which produced steel rods that are being used in the construction of the new Cooper River bridge, could resume as early as next fall.

It would take at least that long to rehire some of the workers who lost their jobs at the plant. It's expected that about 325 people would be employed when the mill resumes production, about half as many as worked at the plant before layoffs last year.

ISG's bid bested a group of 28 suitors vying for the steelmaker. Many had toured the plant in the past several months and had submitted bids for parts or all of the plant. They ranged from steel companies to investment firms.

Interest in the mill grew because demand for steel in construction and consumer goods has surged in China, where the economy grew 9.1 percent last year, more than twice as fast as the U.S. economy. China consumes about one-quarter of the world's steel.What's more, the average price of hot-rolled steel sheet, the industry benchmark product used in appliances and cars, rose 47 percent in the first quarter to $423 a ton from $287 a year earlier, according to PurchasingData.com. The average price for March rose to a record $500.

Although it has been in business for just two years, ISG has become one of the largest steelmakers in North America.

It did so by snatching up bankrupt steelmakers such as LTV, Acme and Bethlehem Steel. At $16 million, the acquisition of Georgetown Steel would be one of ISG's smallest. Last year, ISG paid $1.5 billion for the assets of Bethlehem, the nation's third-largest steelmaker. Its latest purchase, of Weirton Steel Corp., was delayed until a settlement was reached last week with a group of creditors who tried to stop the sale. That purchase will make ISG the nation's largest integrated steelmaker.

ISG's president and chief executive officer is Rodney B. Mott, who helped open the Nucor Corp. steelmaking plant in Berkeley County.

Georgetown Steel, which began operations in the 1960s and employed 1,500 workers in its heyday, shut its doors in October and filed for bankruptcy, throwing more than 425 people out of work. It already had laid off 127 workers a few months before. It was the 42nd U.S. steelmaker to go bankrupt since 1997. It blamed its problems on rising costs for raw materials, surging natural gas prices and foreign imports.

Georgetown Steel's current owner, Daniel Thorne, paid $53 million for the plant when he bought it in 2002 at a bankruptcy court auction.

Thorne was unable to secure financing that would have allowed the plant to continue operations while it restructured its debts. He twice asked the plant's union employees, led by James Sanderson, to take a reduction in pay and health benefits. In both instances, they voted to reject the cuts.

Thorne's company, Midcoast Industries, would receive $5.85 million of the proposed sale proceeds.

WHAT'S NEXT

-- U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John Waites must approve International Steel Group's bid to purchase Georgetown Steel. A hearing is set for 9 a.m. May 14 in Columbia but may happen sooner.

-- Once the bid is approved, Georgetown Steel will start rehiring workers and purchasing inventory to restart its furnaces.

-- The mill could reopen as early as next fall, about a year after closing down and putting more than 425 people out of work.

ABOUT ISG

In business for only two years, International Steel Group Inc. has become one of the giants in the steel industry by buying bankrupt steelmakers. It is currently the second-largest integrated steelmaker in North America.

Headquarters: Cleveland

Date founded: April 2002

President: Rodney B. Mott

Parent company: New York financial company WL Ross & Co.

Financial highlights: ISG earned $70.9 million on sales of $1.77 billion for the first three months of 2004, compared with a loss of $2.3 million on sales of $461 million in the first quarter of 2003.

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