Arcelor Mittal, SKorea's POSCO may partner

Seoul, June 29: Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel maker, and South Korea's POSCO, may partner in overseas projects and raw material development, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Friday.

The report came after a Japanese media report earlier this week that Arcelor Mittal would also sign a new partnership deal with Nippon Steel Corp. on technology transfer and capacity expansion.

A partnership deal with Arcelor Mittal could remove a potential takeover threat against POSCO Co. Ltd., the newspaper said.

''Working groups at two companies are meeting regularly to seek cooperation in overseas projects and raw material developments,'' an unnamed POSCO official was quoted as saying.

POSCO has previously rebutted speculation that Arcelor Mittal could be interested in making a hostile takeover of the company.

POSCO has a fragmented, foreign-dominated share ownership and is seen by some as a prime takeover target in the wave of global consolidation that began last year, when Mittal bought Arcelor.

Reuters>