On March 17, the world's leading steel company ArcelorMittal issued a statement rejecting the rumors that it has been planning a €5 billion ($6.5 billion) rights issue and has hired two banks in relation to the matter.
"In response to an article that was published in the Financial Times this morning, ArcelorMittal would like to state that the rumors mentioned within this article are not true," said ArcelorMittal in its statement.
"ArcelorMittal has a successful debt reduction program in place and does not need to raise additional capital through a rights issue at this time. The company has not retained any specific advisors for this purpose and the rumors within this article are without foundation and speculative. However the company will continue to review and consider all options as is only prudent given the current challenging operating environment," stated ArcelorMittal.
The Financial Times had cited speculation that ArcelorMittal had hired JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank to coordinate a rights issue of about € 5 billion enabling existing holders to buy one share for every two they own for €8.