Business Activities News
- Deadline extended for Arcelor Mittal's Laiwu buy
Date: 4-Jan-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
SHANGHAI-LISTED Laiwu Steel Co., which has agreed to sell a minority stake to Arcelor Mittal , said Saturday the two sides had extended the deadline for the deal to wait for the government's approval.
Laiwu, China's eighth-largest steelmaker, said in a statement sent to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its State-owned parent was discussing a new date for the deal to be completed with the world's largest steel firm.
Arcelor, in the process of merging with Mittal, agreed in February last year to buy a 38.41 percent stake in listed Laiwu, half of the shares owned by Laiwu's State-owned parent. The deal was set to be completed by March 31, 2007.
The approval process is still making its way through the relevant Central Government departments, Laiwu said in the statement.
If the government approves the Laiwu deal, the combined Arcelor Mittal would own stakes in two of China's leading steel firms, Laiwu and Shenzhen-listed Valin Steel Tube and Wire, which has been bought by Mittal. In each case it would have just short of a controlling stake.
Laiwu and nearby Jinan Iron and Steel Co., China's seventh-largest mill, are due to merge under a plan by the Shandong Provincial Government to create the country's second-largest steelmaker.
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