Is Arcelor Budging?

An anonymous source has told the Reuters news agency that Luxembourg-based steelmaker Arcelor may finally be ready to negotiate with Mittal Steel, the Netherlands-based steelmaker largely owned by Indian Lakshmi Mittal and his family.

According to Reuters, the source has indicated that talks could begin as soon as this Wednesday and that Arcelor managers may finally be willing to accept a slightly improved offer from Mittal without further resistance.

At a news conference, Lakshmi Mittal has also indicated positive movement on the negotiating front, telling attendees, “ We have moved from a very negative involvement to a positive involvement today. We hope that this kind of dialogue can lead to a satisfactory conclusion for the shareholders of Arcelor as well as Mittal Steel," according to Reuters.

Arcelor’s top executives have been rejecting Mittal’s offers since early this year, and as a counter-move has been trying to merge with Russia’s Severstal.

A deal between Mittal and Arcelor would create a European-based powerhouse with more than 100 million metric tons of annual steelmaking capacity—much of it in Europe but some of it also in other parts of the world.