Posted on 01/27/2006 4:35:54 AM PST by wolf78
Billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has launched an audacious £12.75 billion takeover attempt on rival Arcelor of France - in a move that would see him strengthen his position at the top of the world's steel industry.
Mittal Steel, Mr Mittal's Dutch listed steel giant, said today it had offered €28.21 a share for Arcelor in an €18.6 billion bid that, if successful, would create the world's biggest steelmaker and the first producer capable of making more than 100 tons of steel a day.
As he pitched his offer at a 27 per cent premium to last night's closing price of Arcelor - traded on the Paris arm of Euronext - Mr Mittal said an enlarged company would have unprecedented scale, scope and synergies and would have a pro forma market value of some $40 billion.
"The last 10 years have seen a major shift towards consolidation of the steel industry, helping to create sustainable value for all stakeholders. Both Mittal Steel and Arcelor have been at the forefront of this consolidation and share a similar vision for the future of our industry," Mr Mittal said.
"We believe the offer provides a very attractive premium and has been structured so that Arcelor shareholders have the opportunity to participate in the exciting growth potential of the combined company, while also receiving a generous cash element."
Mittal Steel also said it had agreed to sell Dofasco, Arcelor’s recent acquisition in America, to German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG for C$68 a share.
Arcelor made no immediate comment on the proposal.
(Excerpt) Read more at business.timesonline.co.uk ...
No, all he cares about is getting money and making illegal military sales.
While all our attention is on China, India is rising fast and will soon have a larger population than China. Forget Europe, our future allies will be India and Japan.
Yeah Right. Do these people know how much a hundred tons is? it would take years to make a hundred tons of steel.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1609390,00020008.htm
Mittal eyeing more Chinese steel firms
Press Trust of India
Beijing, January 26, 2006
NRI* industrialist Lakshmi Mittal is eying more steel companies in China even as the communist nation's steel sector, one of the biggest in the world, may see dwindling profits this year due to weakening prices, the state media reported on Thursday.
The dwindling profits could spark mergers and acquisitions in the fragmented sector starting from 2007, analysts said.
Zheng Dong, from Beijing-based Guosen Securities, predicted that the sector's 2006 profits would plunge by 60 per cent this year compared to 2005 as a result of over production capacity, as well as slowing demand because of the government's measures to prevent the economy overheating.
Statistics from the China Iron and Steel Association show the nation's top 68 steel makers reported 73.1 billion yuan (nine billion US dollars) in combined profits during the first 11 months last year, down 1.01 per cent from a year ago.
Analysts anticipate the sector's full-year profits fell last year compared to the previous four years.
Zheng said many Chinese steelmakers would face financial troubles this year as low steel prices further erodes profits.
"As a result, we will witness a lot of mergers and acquisitions in the sector, led by foreign steel giants and domestic heavyweights, or driven by government, Zheng said.
UK-based Mittal last October acquired a 36.7 per cent stake of Valin Steel Tube & Wire Co Ltd in China's Hunan Province, marking the first equity merger between a foreign steel giant and a local firm.
According to sources, Mittal is also in merger talks with other Chinese steel mills.
* NRI = Non-Resident Indian
Maybe I'm still hung over but why does thta not seem a lot to me. 200k pounds a day right. How many cars, steel beams, etc are produced in a given year?
One single moderate size oxygen furnace can produce a hundred tons of steel in a matter of minutes.
Acutally, this post is mistitled. Mittal Steel is not an Indian company, but rather it is legally a Dutch company. The company founder is of Indian ethnicity, but is a British citizen. Mittal Steel's business is primarily concentrated in Europe which is where most of their facilities are. Their corporate website doesn't even list a single office in India. The original company (Ispat) was initially in Indonesia.
Not even in the same universe. At the plant i worked at, there were two furnaces - one operating, one being rebricked. The operating cycle was 40 minutes - 12 batches (each 105 tonnes) in an eight hour shift. And that was a small plant.
Any word on why a company based in Luxemborg is considered to be French?
With investments of over US $2 billion, Ispat Indstries Ltd is the seventh largest Indian private sector company.
The official website (of Ispat) above shows Ispat as an Indian company. BTW, Mittal is still an Indian citizen, and holds an Indian passport.
The tycoon was Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian billionaire living in London, who amassed his fortune by buying tired state steelworks, slashing costs and, inevitably, jobs. Today, his Ispat International is the fourth-largest steel producer in the world, with factories around the globe.
Unlike the Hinduja brothers, Mr Mittal, 51, has never sought a British passport and remains an Indian citizen.
- The Telegraph Online, UK.
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