Aleksei Mordashov Plays Real Monopoly- Arcelor

PanAsianBiz ^ | June 4, 2006 | Dr. Bill Belew

[G. Stolyarov II]

Aleksei Mordashov, the CEO of Russian Steel Co. Severstal says he is befuddled by his proposed $16.5 Billion deal with the steel giant Arcelor.

"The deal would create the world's largest steel company with a 6% of global production," Mordashov says.

It would also give him a 32% share of the new company his critics say.

Arcelor, apparently is a national treasure in the European countries where it operates - Fance and Belgium.

Another company, Mittal, wants to buy out Arcelor and the Arcelor board doesn't like that idea either. It sounds to me like they just don't want to be bought out.

It sounds like a game of Monopoly going on at a real world global level.

Mittal has the backing of Goldman Sachs Investment Bank - wait! isn't that the company our new Treasury Secretary worked for?

It's a fight -

Who do you think is going to win?

[G. Stolyarov II]

Mordashov’s quest to obtain a French/Belgian company is not only economically wise; it is also politically wise. Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently shown his true colors as a neo-communist sympathizer; Putin has suppressed regional elections and—worse—nationalized Russia’s top oil company, Yukos, led by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the most vocal critics of Putin’s politics. The ambitious, industrious, and virtuous Khodorkovsky is now behind bars, the fruits of his labor seized by the Russian government under Putin’s orders.

Mordashov would do well to seek to avoid Khodorkovsky’s fate by holding assets outside of Russia and therefore beyond the ability of Putin’s government to seize. If he acquires Arcelor, Mordashov would be able to rely on vast French and Belgian assets in the event that Putin decides to nationalize Severstal. Whether or not he acquires the firm, we should hope that he escapes political persecution and economic strangulation. See Dr. Belew’s Blog: PanAsianBiz