Deadline extended for Arcelor Mittal
China’s Laiwu Steel Co Ltd, which has agreed to sell a minority stake to Arcelor Mittal, said the two sides had extended the deadline for the deal to wait for Beijing’s approval.
Laiwu, China’s eighth largest steel maker, 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 to buy a 38.41 per cent 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 Beijing approves the Laiwu deal, the combined Arcelor Mittal would own stakes in two of China’s leading steel firms, Laiwu and Valin Steel Tube amd 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 Ltd, China’s seventh-largest mill, are due to merge under a plan by the Shandong provincial government to create the country’s second-largest steel maker.
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