Mittal prepared to revise bid offer for Arcelor

Frankfurt (Paris), May 9: Mittal Steel is willing to consider sweetening its unsolicited takeover bid for European steelmaker Arcelor should the Arcelor board reverse its opposition and recommend the deal to shareholders.

''In the context of a recommended transaction, Mittal Steel is prepared to revise the value of its offer,'' Mittal Steel said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that it had initiated contact with Joseph Kinsch, Arcelor's chairman, to discuss the terms of an offer that could lead to a recommendation.

An Arcelor spokesman declined to comment on the Mittal statement.

Mittal will hold a news conference at 0900 GMT in London, ahead of its annual shareholder meeting in Rotterdam.

On Monday, Arcelor said Kinsch was willing to meet Lakshmi Mittal, Mittal Steel's chairman and chief executive. But he first needed specific information as Arcelor lacked details to assess Mittal's billion takeover bid.

Arcelor Chief Executive Guy Dolle has suggested that Arcelor might consider Mittal's approach if there were a cash offer that recognised the value of Arcelor. He has suggested a value of some 34 to 41 billion euros ( to 52 billion).

The world's two biggest steelmakers have been involved in an aggressive war of words since late January over plans by Mittal to buy Arcelor and forge an industry giant with control of 10 percent of the global steel market.

A Mittal Steel executive told Reuters last week it wants to sit down with Arcelor's board to get to a ''friendly bid situation'', but said then that its offer was not open for discussion.

Mittal Steel expects regulatory clearance for its unsolicited offer by mid-May. It can then send the offer documents to investors and begin the bidding, which will last 35 working days before a possible extension.

Mittal Steel has said it wants to keep Arcelor's management.

Reuters