Jan 14 (Reuters) - Australian steelmaker BlueScope Steel ( BLSFF )

said on Wednesday it would return A$438 million

($292.54 million) to its shareholders through a special dividend

of ‌A$1 per share, funded by surplus cash from its recent asset

sales.

The ​surplus cash includes funds from the stake sale in ‍its

joint venture with India's Tata Steel, ⁠an agreement ⁠to

sell 33 hectares of land at West Dapto for A$76 million, ‌and

from the ongoing residual projects ​in its properties group,

which is expected to deliver about A$200 million in working

capital over ⁠fiscal 2025 and 2026.

BlueScope, ‍which ​manufactures steel products for the

construction and infrastructure sectors, said it had opted to

return capital via dividend ‍because an on-market share buyback

was not possible given the current corporate scenario.

Australia's largest steelmaker last week

rejected

a $9 billion takeover offer from a consortium comprising

Australian conglomerate SGH and U.S.-based Steel

Dynamics ( STLD ), accusing the bidders of trying ​to ‍buy it "on

the cheap".

Its rejection was also backed by BlueScope's largest

investor, AustralianSuper, which said the offer ​had undervalued

the company. The pension fund holds 13.52% of BlueScope.

The company added on Wednesday that free cash generation

was set to ramp up over the next 12-18 months with BlueScope

expecting a reduction in capital expenditure of at least ​A$500

million in fiscal 2027 compared with fiscal 2026.

The special dividend would be paid on February 24, it

said in its statement.

($1 = 1.4972 ‍Australian dollars)