‘We’re looking for strategic fit'

He’s flown in from New York at 1.30 am to London, and been in meetings from 6 am; he’s flying back to New York later, and it’s been a long morning. He isn’t saying how thrilled he is; when asked what this means for India in the global arena. He hopes that this will enhance our standing in the world.

In between assuaging the European media’s concerns about jobs losses and pension schemes in the UK and the Netherlands, Ratan Tata spoke to ET’s Foreign Editor Sudeshna Sen in London, along with our television partners Reuters TV, “We are not going on an acquisition binge, we’re looking for strategic fits. The boundaries of countries are going, and companies are going to have to be in multiple places and look at themselves as global entities. We, as a group, are looking for strategic fits, not just to acquire,” he said.

Talking of the fit with Corus, he said, “We looked at several options for coming together and this is the best option. We have a commonality of values, I’m very impressed with Corus’ turnaround. Corus will see new markets for sophisticated products, Tata Steel will see new markets in Europe.

Together we can build a competitive company.” Speaking about the inevitable comparisons with LN Mittal, he said, “I think it’s because we are both in steel. LN Mittal is by far the largest in steel. We were a much smaller responsible company, we will be a larger, responsible, global steel company,” he said.

While the management and board of Corus has said yes, it still has to go through shareholders; Mr Tata isn’t commenting on which way events might go. Reacting to the statement by Standard Life Insurance, Corus’ biggest shareholder, that the offer was lower than expected, all he would say is that “It will be sad for both companies if many shareholders feel this way.”