| Arcelor- Severstal plan merger, Mittal says no impact on bid |
| Our Web Bureau / Mumbai May 26, 2006 |
| Arcelor, which is fighting a hostile takeover bid from Mittal Steel , is planning to merge with Russia's Severstal. Accoding to a flash on NDTV Profit, Mittal Steel said the Arcelor move does not impact their bid for the company. Mittal Steel added that they need to get the support of 50% shareholders of Arcelor to go ahead with their deal. Arcelor, too, accepted that if Mittal Steel is able to get the support of 50% shareholders, the merger deal with Severstal would come unstuck. The transaction values Arcelor at euro 44 per share excluding euro 1.85 dividend.In addition, up to euro 7.6 billion cash will be returned to shareholders including via dividends and OPRA (self tender), according to a release posted by Arcelor on the company website. "The combination of Arcelor and Severstal will be the Number 1 steel company in the world with euro 46 billion in sales, euro 9 billion in EBITDA and 70 million tonne of production based on each company |
