Billionaire Ira Rennert's Renco Group has agreed to restore the pensions of 1,350 retirees from RG Steel, which liquidated in bankruptcy about a year after it was formed, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The agreement grew out of a court fight with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which took over RG Steel's pension obligations when RG Steel filed for bankruptcy in 2012. According to the PBGC, the U.S. government's pension insurer, Renco raced to sell down its stake in the failing steel operation to evade being held responsible for RG Steel's obligations to retirees. Without admitting wrongdoing, Renco said that it would take back the pension plans for plants in Wheeling, W.Va., and Warren, Ohio, as well as make good on back payments for benefits not covered by the PBGC.
