OYAK agrees with Arcelor in principle

OYAK agrees with Arcelor in principle

OYAK, the Turkish Armed Forces Pension Fund, reportedly plans to sell to Luxembourg-based steel giant Arcelor close to half of the 49.29 percent stake in Turkey's Erdemir that OYAK acquired in October. Following the privatization tender, OYAK announced that it had received partnership offers from Mittal and Arcelor. Mr. Coskun Ulusoy, General Manager of OYAK, indicated that the company evaluated the offers and reached an agreement with Arcelor in principle. According to the agreement, OYAK and Arcelor will build a new company in which OYAK will hold a 51 percent stake and Arcelor the remaining 49 percent. Arcelor is reportedly ready to pay $1.45 billion to acquire what amounts to a one-quarter interest in Erdemir. The fact that Arcelor has been a partner of Erdemir in Sollac Ambalaj since 2002 reportedly swayed OYAK towards choosing Arcelor as a partner.