Steel deal: Minister against intervention by Belgium Govt

Hyderabad, Apr 22 (UNI) Union Minister for State for Industries Ashwani Kumar today said he was against any intervention by Belgium Government on L N Mittal's 23 billion USD bid for European steel giant Arcelor.

''Allow Arcelor's shareholders to decide on this. The government is against interference in any cross-border transaction,'' he told reporters here.

Steel Baron Mittal, one of the world's richest men, had bid for Arcelor in an effort to create a steel agglomerate with 100 million tonne in production, 50 billion USD revenues and more than 2.5 lakh employees.

The bid created a storm across European capitals with Arcelor enlisting the support of various governments, holding shares in the company, to stave off the 'hostile takeover.' UNI SM GM PA VC SND1545