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The Mittal-Arcelor saga started earlier this year. Here's how the story unfolded....

January 27: Mr L.N. Mittal made an unsolicited $22.7-billion bid for Arcelor. But Arcelor rejected that bid on the pretext that the two companies did not share a strategic vision.

Almost a fortnight later, Arcelor announced 85 per cent dividend to fend off Mittal's offer. And it did not stop there.

April 4: Beefing up its defences further, Arcelor announced a special payment of over $6 billion to its shareholders. It also moved its recently acquired Dofasco into an independent foundation.

April 28: Arcelor mustered the support of its shareholders, as it re-elected its board.

Perseverance

May 18: But Mittal was in no mood to give up. He formally launched a hostile takeover bid. And the very next day, he upped the offer by 34 per cent; the new deal now valued at $32.90 billion.

But Arcelor was not impressed. It spurned Mittal's continuous offers by bringing in a white knight in the form of Severstal for a merger.

It then called for a shareholders meet on June 28, to decide between the two offers.

European panel nod

June 6: The European Commission approved the Mittal-Arcelor merger.

June 20: In a bid to woo Arcelor, Severstal revised the terms of its merger proposal, saying that majority owner Mr Alexei Mordashov would settle for 25 per cent of the new group rather than the initially proposed 32.3 per cent and raised its offer by about 2 billion.

June 23: The two kingpins of steel decided to meet on June 25 to have a final word over the deal.

Related Stories:
Europe's survival rests on its ability to adapt
EU rules out nationality as criterion in Mittal case
Mittal Steel launches bid for Arcelor — $ 22.7-b offer aimed at creating `European consolidation'
Has Arcelor been softened?

More Stories on : Steel | Mergers & Acquisitions

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