Mittal Steel says offer period may be extended

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) Mittal Steel said the closing date of its offer for rival Arcelor might be extended slightly as a result of the improvements to its bid announced earlier on Friday.

''The offer period is open to June 29 and the close might be slightly extended because of the revision of this offer,'' Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal told a conference call.

Earlier on Friday, Mittal Steel hiked its hostile bid to 25.8 billion euros ( billion), based on Thursday's closing prices.

REUTERS CS ND1734