Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Tatas, Ruias set sights on Stelco

Tata Steel, India’s largest private sector steel maker, and Essar Global, the holding company of the Essar group, have shown preliminary interest in Canadian steel maker Stelco, put up for sale by key shareholders last week. People in the know said the Tata group is attracted to the mines and the specialised steel-making capabilities of Stelco while Essar is more keen on the Ontario-based firm’s iron ore assets.

Sources close to Tata Steel admitted that Stelco “is an option as we have interest in the high-volume, high-margin markets of North America and want to get a footprint there”. “It is too early as Stelco has just announced its intentions,” he added.

A Tata Steel spokesperson refused to comment specifically on Stelco, but noted that “the company is in an expansion mode and is looking at various possibilities”.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

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