'We will make Corus more competitive'

Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman stole the show at the Tata-Corus joint press conference in London, even though he shared the dais with his boss, Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata, and Corus Chairman Jim Leng, an industry veteran.

His best answer came in response to a question if Tata would protect the jobs of Corus' workers (job protection had been a ticklish issue in Mittal Steel's acquisition of Arcelor.)

"The threat of jobs is very high if this deal does not take place. This will make Corus far more competitive globally than it is today," said Muthuraman at the conference, which was connected via video and telephone to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Amsterdam.

The competitiveness would be enhanced by leveraging the synergies of the two companies in the areas of manufacturing, shared services, logistics, best practices and "every area of manufacturing and marketplace," he said.

He also painted a bullish picture for Tata in the years to come. The financing of the Corus deal, he said, had been worked out in a way to ensure the company's other projects were not affected. Referring to the eventual capacity of his company once the expansions and acquisitions had been completed, he said, "With the announced plans of Tata Steel, we will be about 40 million tonnes (in annual capacity)."

ON THE CARDS

Tata to float offer document within two weeks

The offer will be open for at least 14 days after the date of indication from the European Commission or the Office of Fair Trade

Corus will inform Tata Steel UK if anyone makes a counter offer

The transaction is expected to be complete by January next year