Monday, January 30, 2006
Arcelor launches 'long' fight against Mittal Steel takeover
The Tocqueville Connection
European steel maker Arcelor came out fighting and determined to win on Monday in the face of a hostile takeover bid by Mittal Steel as France voiced deep concern about the fate of the European steel industry.
Mittal Steel's attack on Arcelor, launched Friday in London, moved to Paris where the parties held duelling press conferences and the French government said it feared there was no hard evidence the two groups could be successfully combined.
The head of Mittal Steel, Lakshmi Mittal, met here with French Finance Minister Thierry Breton and sought to allay fears that his 18.6-billion-euro (22.7-billion-dollar) bid for Luxembourg-based Arcelor would mean job cuts.
Mittal told a press conference his company was not in the habit of acquiring steel-making plants in order to close them and pledged that no employment reductions were planned.
European steel maker Arcelor came out fighting and determined to win on Monday in the face of a hostile takeover bid by Mittal Steel as France voiced deep concern about the fate of the European steel industry.
Mittal Steel's attack on Arcelor, launched Friday in London, moved to Paris where the parties held duelling press conferences and the French government said it feared there was no hard evidence the two groups could be successfully combined.
The head of Mittal Steel, Lakshmi Mittal, met here with French Finance Minister Thierry Breton and sought to allay fears that his 18.6-billion-euro (22.7-billion-dollar) bid for Luxembourg-based Arcelor would mean job cuts.
Mittal told a press conference his company was not in the habit of acquiring steel-making plants in order to close them and pledged that no employment reductions were planned.
