The May 21 announcement that AK Steel is buying Armco has resulted in the termination of talks between Armco's Sawhill Tubular Division and Wheatland Tube Co., said Jim Herzog, a spokesman for Armco. Sawhill and Wheatland had been discussing Sawhill's possible acquisition of Wheatland since 1997.

The $842 million AK-Armco deal, expected to be final in the third quarter of this year, also triggered Standard & Poor's to place its ratings on both companies on CreditWatch "with positive implications," according to a wire-service report.

Armco is the largest producer of 400-series stainless steel and silicon electrical steel in the United States.