Indian corporate giant Tata Steel outbid Brazil's CSN for Corus in a nerve-wrecking auction that lasted more than eight hours. The bid which started at 455 pence per share in October, finally ended at 608 pence/share for Corus.
Speaking on the deal, Tata Steel's Chairman Ratan Tata says that the company sees a strategic fit with Corus in UK and Netherlands. He adds that Tata Steel now has a a global scale and footprint in Europe.
He believes that this deal is the first step in showing that the Indian industry can move in the international market place. According to him, the deal is a commencement of Tata Steel to being a global steel major. Tata also emphasised that the top management of Corus will remain with the company. He clarifies that the shareholders' interest has not been jeopardised by the deal.
The company's Managing Director B Muthuraman states that Corus has brought in a capacity of 19 million tpa immediately to Tata Steel. Also, the cost of bringing this capacity to Tata Steel is a little more than half of a Greenfield project, he adds. He says the Corus will Become more competitive post acquisition. Muthuraman mentions that Corus is very rich in R&D and thus will improve Tata Steel's operations.
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URBANEYE