MITTAL
STEEL EMERGES WORLD'S LARGEST STEELMAKER
NRI business tycoon
Lakshmi N Mittal-owned Ispat International on Monday emerged
as world's largest steelmaker as it announced its merger with
The Netherlands-based LNM Holdings and US International Steel
Group to form Mittal Steel Corporation.
Ispat said it has
agreed to acquire LNM Holdings for $ 13.3 bn in shares and
the International Steel Group for $4.5 bn in cash and shares.
Lakshmi N Mittal
will be the chairman and chief executive of Mittal Steel,
it was officially announced.
Simultaneously,
Ispat International and International Steel Group Inc announced
on Monday that their Boards of Directors have unanimously
approved a definitive agreement under which the two entities
would merge.
"The combined
Mittal Steel will be the largest and most global steel company
in the world and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange
and Euronext Amsterdam," the official announcement said.
LNM Holdings is
one of the world's largest and most profitable steel companies
and also has substantial mining assets. Its revenues were
9.9 billion dollars and operating income was 3.2 billion dollars
in the first nine months of 2004.
The company has annual total raw steel production capacity
of over 32 million tonnes and owns significant mining assets,
annually producing about 18 million metric tonnes of iron
ore, 13 million metric tonnes of coke and 12 million metric
tonnes of coal. "These transactions dramatically change
the landscape of the global steel industry," Lakshmi
Mittal, Chairman of the Mittal Steel said about the merger.
He said the combined
company will have excellent positions in raw materials, particularly
coal, coke and iron ore, as well as strong positions in key
end sectors.
Mittal Steel will
be based in Rotterdam and LNM Group will retain control of
the company after the deal.
The companies have
signed a Letter of Agreement with the United Steelworkers
of America and the Independent Steelworkers Union.
The merged entity
would have operations in 14 countries on four continents and
employ 165,000 people.
