EU sets Jan 3 deadline to rule on Tata bid for Corus
Tata's offer is unlikely to face lengthy antitrust scrutiny as the two companies have few overlaps.
By Agencies |
BRUSSELS: EU regulators on Thursday set a Jan 3 deadline to rule on Tata Steel's $7.7 billion pound bid for Britain's Corus Group PLC, just days after CSN made another higher offer.
Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA trumped Tata last week with an offer of $8 billion for Europe's second largest steelmaker, sending Corus shares soaring on speculation that Tata would raise its bid or that other companies might enter the contest.
Any takeover for Corus, Europe's second-largest steelmaker after Arcelor Mittal, builds on the steel industry's recent wave of consolidation, coming on the heels of Mittal Co. NV's euro26 billion
(US$33.5 billion) takeover of Arcelor SA this year.
The European Commission can extend its deadline if rivals complain or if it identifies possible antitrust problems with the deal. It usually decides on mergers where the companies firms make more than euro5 billion (US$6.4 billion) worldwide or euro250 million (US$322 million) in Europe.
However, Tata's offer is unlikely to face lengthy antitrust scrutiny as the two companies have few overlaps.
U.S. regulators also told Mittal to divest one of its North American plants.
Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA trumped Tata last week with an offer of $8 billion for Europe's second largest steelmaker, sending Corus shares soaring on speculation that Tata would raise its bid or that other companies might enter the contest.
Any takeover for Corus, Europe's second-largest steelmaker after Arcelor Mittal, builds on the steel industry's recent wave of consolidation, coming on the heels of Mittal Co. NV's euro26 billion
(US$33.5 billion) takeover of Arcelor SA this year.
The European Commission can extend its deadline if rivals complain or if it identifies possible antitrust problems with the deal. It usually decides on mergers where the companies firms make more than euro5 billion (US$6.4 billion) worldwide or euro250 million (US$322 million) in Europe.
However, Tata's offer is unlikely to face lengthy antitrust scrutiny as the two companies have few overlaps.
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Mittal's bid for Arcelor was cleared on condition that the companies sold off some European units to prevent the company becoming a dominant maker of heavy section steel beams.U.S. regulators also told Mittal to divest one of its North American plants.
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