By Mike Boyer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Shares of AK Steel Corp. rose 11 percent Monday after the company said it agreed to sell its Douglas Dynamics LLC subsidiary to Aurora Capital Group, a Los Angeles investment firm. Terms were not disclosed.

The Douglas Dynamics sale is the second divestment of non-core assets since AK's announcement in October that it would jettison some operations to reduce its debt.

The sales are part of a broader plan outlined by CEO James Wainscott to cut costs, boost sales and restore the company to profitability after two years of losses. Wainscott, 46, took the reins of AK Steel in October. In addition to Monday's announcement, his actions so far have included:

• The sale of the 600-acre Green Port Industrial Park in Houston to a private investment group, announced last month.

• The elimination of 475 salaried jobs at AK Steel.

• Negotiations with the company's unions on possible salary concessions.

AK Steel acquired Douglas Dynamics, which manufactures snowplows and ice removal equipment, in its 1999 purchase of Armco Inc. Douglas has operations in Milwaukee; Johnson City, Tenn.; and Rockland, Maine.

AK Steel said the Douglas Dynamics and Green Port Industrial Park deals are expected to close by the end of this month. The company said it expects to post a pre-tax gain of about $250 million from the assets sales.

At the end of last year, AK Steel reported long-term debt of $1.2 billion down from $1.26 billion in the previous year.

In New York Stock Exchange trading Monday, AK Steel shares gained 56 cents - more than 11 percent - to close at $5.42. AK shares have more than doubled in value since September, when the company's chief executive officer and chief operating officer resigned.

Wainscott was named interim CEO and was given permanent status by the company's board in October.

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E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com