Arcelor Mittal gets approval from Brazilian regulators

Brussels: Mittal Steel Co NV received approval from Brazilian regulators for its higher offer for Arcelor SA''s Latin American steel units.

Brazil''s Securities and Exchange Commission cleared the mandatory offer to buy out Arcelor Brasil SA''s remaining shareholders and cancel it as a public company, Mittal said. The approval adds nearly $5.43 billion to the cost of the companies'' deal to become the world''s largest steelmaker.

The steelmaker said it would publish the offer by April 27 and it would be open for between 30 to 45 calendar days.

Brazilian market regulators earlier ordered Mittal to make another bid on the same terms as the offer for shares in the Luxembourg-based parent company, telling it a previous offer of up to $3.26 billion was too low.

Under the terms of the new offer, Arcelor Brasil shareholders can choose between a combination of cash and shares or all cash. Their stakes can be swapped for shares in the new company Arcelor Mittal plus 11.7 Brazilian reals ($5.77) in cash or that same amount of cash plus the cash value of Mittal shares.

The company said it would pay out a maximum of 10.9 billion Brazilian reals ($5.37 billion) and 76 million Arcelor Mittal shares -- 5 per cent of the company''s capital on a fully diluted basis.