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Tata Steel set to take over Corus

31/01/2007

Tata Steel has won an auction for steelmaker Corus with a bid of £6.2 billion.

The Indian steel manufacturer made a final bid of 608 pence per Corus share, well above yesterday's closing price of 563 pence per share.

Tata Steel beat out its Brazilian rival CSN, in what ended up as a bidding war between the two companies.

Each was allowed nine bids for Corus, with the Indian company emerging as the winner in the early hours of the morning. The deal will make Tata Steel the fifth largest steel company in the world.

Now that the auction has finished, the bid must be approved by the Corus board. Financial experts have tipped that the bid will be confirmed and will then passed on to shareholders for approval.

Corus was previously known as British Steel; changing its name after merging with Dutch company Hoogovens in 1999. Its worldwide operations employ 47,300 people.

Commenting to today's auction victory, Tata Steel chairman Ratan Tata said: "From the outset we have remained determined to pursue our stated strategy of growth through international expansion and remain convinced of the compelling strategic rationale of this partnership.

"Following the conclusion of the auction process, the revised terms of the acquisition deliver substantial additional value to Corus shareholders. At the same time, Tata Steel gains a significant platform to generate additional value."

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