JSW Steel looking for acquisition in US, Europe

MUMBAI: Leading private sector steel firm JSW Steel is looking for a small-size acquisition in the US and Europe, a company official said here.

"We have already initiated talks with a few companies in the US and Europe and but nothing has been finalised yet," a company spokesperson said.

"We have not yet fixed any amount for the proposed acquisition or any tentative date," she said.

JSW Steel plans to acquire a 'value-added existing company' having a capacity of between one to two mt. The acquisition would give the Indian company proximity to key global steel markets.

JSW, which currently produces four mt of steel, looks to boost its capacity to seven mt by 2009 and 10 mt by 2010 and has initiated expansion work at its plants towards this goal.

The steel sector is currently in consolidation mode with one private sector giant Tata Steel initiating steps to takeover Brtish steel major Corus in a USD 10 billion-deal and another player Mittal Steel buying European rival Arcelor a few months back.