New York, Aug. 27 (Reuters): US Steel Corp will acquire Stelco Inc for about $1.1 billion to strengthen its position as a supplier of flat-rolled steel products in North America, the companies said.

Stelco, the last big Canadian-owned steelmaker, had put itself on the auction block in June after a wave of takeovers within the Canadian steel industry. US Steel will acquire Stelco for C$38.50 ($36.64) per share, amounting to about $1.1 billion, based on about 30 million fully diluted shares, according to the companies. They announced the deal late on Sunday night.

Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco, which emerged from bankruptcy protection last year, had about $760 million of net debt on its balance sheet as of June 30, the companies said.

Shareholders owning more than 76 per cent of Stelco's outstanding shares have entered into agreements with US Steel committing support for the deal, the companies said.

US Steel will have annual raw steel capability of about 33 million tonnes after the deal, according to the companies.