Parsippany, N.J.-based Skyline, a distributor of steel foundations, was put on the block by the world's No. 1 steel maker, ArcelorMittal SA, which is offloading non-core assets to help pay down about $23.6 billion of debt.

Skyline operates 21 sales offices as well as processing and fabrication facilities that distribute steel foundations used in the construction of bridges, highways and marine structures in the NAFTA region and the Carribean. It had sales of $873 million in 2011.

Nucor, whose chairman and CEO is Daniel R. DiMicco, claimed that the price for Skyline was "in line with current marketplace valuations of publicly traded steel distributors." Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor, which has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, did not say how it will fund the acquisition.

ArcelorMittal also supplies steel to Skyline and has secured long-term supply agreements for sheet piling and wear-resistant products as part of its disposal deal.

"This decision is very much in line with our strategy of focusing on core assets and reducing net debt", said ArcelorMittal CFO Aditya Mittal in a statement. "As the largest supplier to Skyline Steel, Nucor was a natural buyer for this subsidiary business."

ArcelorMittal, of Luxembourg, said earlier this month that its debt had risen by about $1.1 billion in the first quarter but would fall to $22.5 billion by the end of June as a result of its asset sales program and improved cash flow.

The sale of Nucor is ArcelorMittal's second significant disposal in the past year and comes just weeks after it offloaded Luxembourg energy utility Enovos International SA to France's AXA Private Equity in a deal worth €330 million ($420 million). In November last year it sold a A$771 million ($758.7 million) minority stake in Australian coal miner Macarthur Coal Ltd. to Peabody Energy Corp.

The Skyline sale is expected to close before the end of July.

Nucorp shares closed Thursday at $34.79. They traded in the after-hours market at $34.96.