Corus Group to sell out?
04 Oct 2006
Even
as the dust settles on the big Arcelor-Mittal merger,
the steel industry looks set for more consolidation, reports
CNBC-TV18.
According to experts, the Anglo-Dutch Corus Group could be the next company to sell out, mainly because of high production costs at its European facilities.
Though when CNBC-TV18 contacted Corus, a spokesperson said the company did not comment on speculation. But Corus has, in the past, said that it is looking at opportunities outside Western Europe to source low-cost steel slabs and raw materials.
This could put India's Tata Steel in a favourable position because it precisely employs this method - it supplies low-cost steel bars to its Singaporean subsidiary Natsteel.
Corus, with an annual sale of 10 billion pounds, would be a huge catch for Tata Steel. Analysts say the deal could be valued at about $8-9 billion. When contacted, Tata Steel CFO, Koushik Chatterjee said that his company was not in talks to buy Corus.
But
it is not only Tata Steel that is believed to be in talks
to buy Corus. European analysts suggest that Russian steel
giants Severstal and Ervaz are also possible suitors.
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