Brazil Gerdau to buy stake in Colombian coke maker

SAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's steelmaker Gerdau Group (GGBR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) (GGB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it has signed a purchase agreement to buy a 50.9 percent stake in Colombian coke producer Cleary Holdings Corp, in a deal valued at $59 million.

Cleary controls coke production units, with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes, and coking coal reserves in Colombia, estimated at 20 million tonnes.

Output is exported mainly to the United States, Peru, Canada and Brazil.

"This acquisition is in line with Gerdau Group's growth strategy in the Americas and represents an important step in order to assure basic inputs for the steel production," Gerdau said in a statement.

The deal still needs to be approved by regulatory agencies in Colombia, the company added. (Reporting by Inae Riveras; Editing by Marguerita Choy)