The world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced that on December 14 it acquired euro-denominated call options on 61,728,395 of its own shares with a strike price of €20.25 per share in the context of its share buy-back program.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, ArcelorMittal announced on November 26 the reopening of its share buy-back program for up to six percent of its share capital, within the scope of the authorization given by the annual general meeting of shareholders held on May 11, 2010.
The call options acquired allow ArcelorMittal to hedge its obligations arising primarily out of the potential conversion of the 7.25 percent bonds convertible into and/or exchangeable for new or existing ArcelorMittal shares due April 1, 2014, and secondarily under the share-based employee incentive plans of the group.
On December 14, ArcelorMittal sold 26.48 million treasury shares through an over-the-counter block trade for a price of €26.4227 per share.
As a result of the transaction, ArcelorMittal has strengthened its equity by €699.67 million.