Why is the man who bought Steven Spielberg’s yacht sniffing around our steel mill?

Algoma Steel Group Inc. was quiet as a soft-bottom river clam Friday after a media report hinted billionaire steel mogul Barry Zekelman might be interested in buying the Sault steelmaker.

The silence was nothing new for Algoma Steel.

The company's policy is to never discuss discussions it might – or might not – be having with potential purchasers.

And Laura Devoni, Algoma's director of strategy, corporate affairs and sustainability, reiterated that policy to SooToday on Friday after The Globe and Mail reported Zekelman has long wanted to own a steel mill and he hasn't ruled out an Algoma Steel takeover.

Zekelman is executive chairman and chief executive officer of Zekelman Industries, North America's biggest independent steel pipe and tube manufacturer.

He's been buying Algoma Steel product for years and during the last two weeks in July, he shelled out $42.1 million for five per cent of the company.

"I have a vested interest to see what may happen to them," Zekelman told the Globe and Mail's Niall McGee.

"Do they remain a standalone or someone else gets involved with them, or views them as a target or maybe a bolt-on acquisition? I’d like to at least have a seat at the table and have a say in the matter," he said.

Whether or not he makes a play to take over our local steel mill, Zekelman is nothing if not an interesting shareholder.

Based in Windsor, Ontario, he's currently ranked 1,003 on Forbes' real-time list of the world's richest billionaires, with a net worth of $3.4 billion.

He owns Man of Steel, an 86-metre superyacht once owned by Steven Spielberg.

The boat has two swimming pools, a spa, a beauty salon, indoor and outdoor cinemas, a dance floor and an operating cost between $10 million and $15 million a year.

It's available for charter if you can spare a million dollars a week.

Zekelman also races a 670-horsepower Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo and has owned numerous other high-performance automobiles.

In 2022, the U.S. Federal Election Commission fined him US$975,000 for making an illegal US$1.75 million donation to America First Action, the self-described "primary super PAC dedicated to electing federal candidates who support the agenda of the Trump-Pence administration."

It was the largest fine ever levied under a U.S. federal law prohibiting foreign nationals from making contributions in connection with a federal election.

Zekelman's donation secured him a private dinner with President Trump, who was pressured to tighten import restrictions on Zekelman competitors.

The Federal Election Commission nonetheless said it found no evidence that Zekelman's breaking of U.S. law was "knowing or wilful."

Zekelman's recent beneficial ownership report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says he's more than just a passive investor and may be interested in "potential business combinations, dispositions or other transactions" involving Algoma Steel.

He "may endeavour to increase or decrease their position in [Algoma] through, among other things, the purchase or sale of common shares on the open market or in private transactions or otherwise," the filing document stated.

“There’s lots of options on the table, and I’m not committed to any of them," Zekelman told the Globe and Mail.

(Photo of Barry Zekelman's superyacht at the top of this article was taken by Adolfo59 and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence)