Arcelor minority investors threaten legal step
ArcelorMittal, whose shareholders approved its $38.3 billion merger, faces legal action from Arcelor minority investors, who are angered by the terms of the transaction to form the world's largest steel maker, a newspaper reported.
By PTI |
LONDON: ArcelorMittal, whose shareholders approved its $38.3 billion merger on Tuesday, faces legal action from Arcelor minority investors, who are angered by the terms of the transaction to form the world's largest steel maker, a newspaper reported.
"Funds, including SRM Advisers, Trafalgar Asset Managers and Deminor International, plan to file suit against the boards of Arcelor and ArcelorMittal in "the next few days" in Luxembourg, the daily quoted SRM Chief Operating Officer Philip Price as saying.
"We have exhausted all attempts to engage constructively with the board of ArcelorMittal," Price said in a telephone interview. "Their apparent intention to mislead" and "materially prejudice" the interests of Arcelor minority shareholders is "unacceptable," he said.
Billionaire Lakshmi Niwas Mittal merged his Mittal Steel Company with Arcelor to form a new company that produces 10 per cent of the world's steel and is three times larger than its closest rival.
The newspaper quoted Jean Lasar, a spokesman for ArcelorMittal, saying ArcelorMittal is "confident that it is fair to all shareholders." The company has not been notified of any legal action, he said.
SRM and its allies have failed in previous attempts to get the merger terms amended. In August, a judge in Rotterdam threw out one case seeking to halt an extraordinary general meeting, while the Paris Civil Court said that it lacked the jurisdiction to rule on the claims, the daily reported.
"Funds, including SRM Advisers, Trafalgar Asset Managers and Deminor International, plan to file suit against the boards of Arcelor and ArcelorMittal in "the next few days" in Luxembourg, the daily quoted SRM Chief Operating Officer Philip Price as saying.
"We have exhausted all attempts to engage constructively with the board of ArcelorMittal," Price said in a telephone interview. "Their apparent intention to mislead" and "materially prejudice" the interests of Arcelor minority shareholders is "unacceptable," he said.
Billionaire Lakshmi Niwas Mittal merged his Mittal Steel Company with Arcelor to form a new company that produces 10 per cent of the world's steel and is three times larger than its closest rival.
The newspaper quoted Jean Lasar, a spokesman for ArcelorMittal, saying ArcelorMittal is "confident that it is fair to all shareholders." The company has not been notified of any legal action, he said.
SRM and its allies have failed in previous attempts to get the merger terms amended. In August, a judge in Rotterdam threw out one case seeking to halt an extraordinary general meeting, while the Paris Civil Court said that it lacked the jurisdiction to rule on the claims, the daily reported.
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