Arcelor Mittal acquires Mexican steel company
Brussels: The world's largest steelmaker, Arcelor Mittal plans to acquire integrated steel producer Sicartsa in Mexico from Grupo Villacero for $1.439 billion. The two companies will also create a 50-50 distribution and trading joint venture in Mexico and the southern United States, Arcelor Mittal said in a statement on Wednesday issued in Rotterdam and Luxembourg.

Arcelor Mittal said it expected the acquisition to generate $80 million of industrial synergies and a further $50 million in synergies from commercial, procurement and selling, general and administrative activities.

He said the Mexican market expected to grow by up to 6 percent per year over the next 10 years this is the ideal time to expand our presence in this country.

Sicartsa is a fully integrated producer of long steel, with an annual production capacity of approximately 2.7 million tonnes from its facilities in Mexico and Texas.

Mittal Steel Lazaro Cardenas is Mexico's largest steel producer and slab exporter, with a plant capacity of 4 million tonnes per year. It shares its production site with Sicartsa. The site operated as one prior to privatisation in 1991.
Back to News Review index page  

NYSE shareholders support Euronext deal
New York: The New York Stock Exchange's shareholders have approved the planned $14.3 billion acquisition of the Paris-based Euronext NV. The deal is expected to create the first trans-Atlantic securities market and set the stage for further expansion.

The purchase of the European exchange operator is set to be completed during the first quarter of 2007 after getting regulatory approval. The deal is seen as a prelude to an era of cross-border exchanges trading stocks, options and other financial products on a global scale.

The NYSE vote came a day after it was overwhelmingly approved by the European exchange's shareholders. However the deal needs final approval from European market regulators and the Dutch Finance Ministry, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission and French authorities.

The SEC and Euronext's five European regulators have already given tentative approval.

NYSE shares fell $1.17 to $102.19 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Back to News Review index page  

Airbus finally wins $2.7bn superjumbo order from Singapore Airlines
After a $2.7 billion (£1.4 billion) order for the A380 superjumbo from Singapore Airlines Airbus has won a significant victory in its annual end-of-year orders battle with Boeing, its American rival. Singapore Airlines has ordered nine of the double-decker aircraft of the superjumbo this year and is taking options on a further six A380s.

This has been a bad year for A380's with production delays pushing delivery two years later than Airbus promised last year. The delays will cost the company €4.8 billion (£3.2 billion) in lost earnings and led to the resignations of two chief executives.
Earlier FedEx cancelled an order for ten A380s and both Virgin and the International Lease Finance Corporation have deferred their orders.

Airbus also announced the sale of 11 A320s to Singapore's subsidiary, Silk Air.

However, despite the new order announcements, Airbus will not be able to overtake Boeing. Boeing has sold more than 865 aircraft in 2006, compared to 700 sold by Airbus. Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner that has a 50 per cent carbon- fibre fuselage and new internal architecture, has received many orders and will come into service in 2009. Boeing has sold 144 of the aircraft, worth more than $23 billion at list prices. In the past week alone, Boeing has sold 787s worth more than $1.1 billion.
Back to News Review index page