UPDATE 1-Venezuela says aims for 'win-win' in steel takeover
(Updates with meeting ends, Congress move)
CARACAS, April 29 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday he wants a "win-win" takeover deal with Argentine steelmaker Ternium, just days after threatening to expropriate the company's local unit.
His vice president and other top officials met with a delegation from Ternium (TX.N) to discuss the price the government will pay for the company's Venezuelan steel plant, Sidor, which Chavez has vowed to nationalize.
The meeting ended with an agreement to continue talks on the takeover next week, according to a company official who asked not to be named as negotiations over Venezuela's biggest steel producer were meant to be private.
That eased some pressure on Ternium.
At the weekend, Chavez had said Ternium was "crazy" for claiming its holdings in the Venezuelan plant are worth $4 billion and threatened to expropriate the property this week if the two sides did not quickly strike a deal.
"We are looking for agreement, a win-win consensus," Chavez said during a televised cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Chavez has nationalized large swathes of the economy in the South American oil nation and has typically paid a fair price for property taken over by the government.
The government has offered $800 million, minus outstanding debts that are expected to exceed $200 million.
On Tuesday, Venezuela's Congress also reinforced the government's negotiating position by declaring the assets of national interest in a move that opened the way to a possible expropriation should Chavez choose that option.
Sidor is a sprawling steel complex on the banks of the Orinoco river that employs close to 15,000 workers. Last year, the plant made 4.3 million tonnes of liquid steel despite a fierce labor dispute that prompted the takeover.
The union welcomed the nationalization but is now threatening the government with strike action if it does not quickly sign a new labor contract and agree a wage rise.
Chavez is also nationalizing Venezuela's cement industry and is in talks with Mexico's Cemex (CX.N), France's Lafarge (LAFP.PA), and Switzerland's Holcim (HOLN.VX) over compensation.
(Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Writing by Saul Hudson, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
