EDGEWORTH, Pa., Oct.

By Joe Napsha Esmark Inc.'s top executive said the parent firm of Wheeling- Pittsburgh Corp. promised to decide by Friday whether to accept a Russian company's unsolicited bid to buy the domestic steelmaker.

By Joe Napsha Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel's mill in Allenport, Washington County, which had been slated to close next week, might be saved by a sale to a U.S. company, said Wheeling-Pitt CEO James Bouchard on Thursday.

By Joe Napsha Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.'s parent firm said Wednesday that a $1.1 billion buyout offer from India's Essar Steel Holdings Ltd. won't save its mill in Allenport in Washington County.

By The Associated Press Steelmaker and distributor Esmark Inc. said Wednesday it has accepted a cash buyout offer valued at about $669 million from India's Essar Steel Holdings Ltd. Esmark said it has agreed to sell for $17 a share - a 13.5 percent premium over Tuesday's closing price.