Mittal Steel Proposes to Sweeten Arcelor Bid

Mittal Steel has proposed sweetening its 20 billion euro offer for rival Arcelor, provided Arcelor’s board ends its resistance to a takeover and recommends a revised deal. The Mittal-Arcelor feud has become one of Europe’s hottest and politically menacing corporate battles in years.
Arcelor shares were up 2.7 percent after setting a new high of 36.14 euros and Mittal was up 3.17 percent at 33.53 euros after the latest news. Arcelor’s share value is about seven percent above the bid value, before adjustments for dividends.
According to a report by Reuters, an Arcelor board member said it is likely to reject the idea of talks with Mittal on Thursday if Mittal fails to provide new information on its takeover bid for the company. Four new shares and 35.25 euros in cash for five Arcelor shares with a limit to the cash portion at 25 percent of the total value, is what Mittal has offered so far.
Arcelor Chairman Joseph Kinsch said a letter had been sent to his company by Mittal, in which Mittal was prepared to offer “significant corporate governance changes” including the introduction of one class of shares, and that it was ready to revise the bid terms.