Mittal Steel versus Severstal

Mittal Steel, the world's biggest steelmaker, and Russian steelmaker Severstal Group report about the developments in their bid for Luxembourg-based steelmaker Arcelor. Mittal Steel announced on Friday, June 2, that the European Commission (EC) cleared Mittal's bid to acquire Arcelor subject to certain commitments. The company considers granting of EU antitrust clearance as a further positive and important step toward the successful completion of Mittal's bid. As it is commented in the company's release, by taking the favorable decision the EC recognized the pro-competitive impact of the Mittal-Arcelor transaction which would lead to consolidation and long-term health of the global steel industry and benefit all shareholders. On the other hand, Severstal Group held a meeting with the Ministry of Economic of France to discuss Arcelor-Severstal merger and the company's future plans. During the meeting, representatives of Severstal presented details of the merger. Moreover, Luxemburg's commission overseeing the financial sector expressed the favorable attitude toward Arcelor-Severstal merger with reservation that Severstal would not bid for controlling stake in Arcelor. This means that Luxembourg government does not regard the planned merger as a hostile takeover.