NRI billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, who has created the world’s largest steel empire through a slew of takeovers, is gearing up to restart doing what he is best at - mergers and acquisitions.
“We are beginning to re-examine selected M&A opportunities,” said a spokesperson from ArcelorMittal, which had last year decided to apply the breaks on its merger and acquisition spree owing to the global economic downturn and its impact on the steel industry.
The steel maker would also look out for opportunities to expand its operational presence in India, the official said.
In India, the company has long-standing plans for setting up two greenfield steel plants and recently got a operational start with acquisition of 35 per cent stake in domestic firm Uttam Galva Steel to become a co-promoter.
Besides, there are speculations that ArcelorMittal, which was created after an over USD 30 billion merger between erstwhile Mittal Steel and European giant Arcelor in 2006, is looking to increase its stake to become a controlling shareholder in London-listed Coal of Africa, where it already holds 16.3 per cent shares.
While a number of smaller M&A deals followed the Arcelor deal, the M&A spree came to a halt last year due to adverse economic conditions, until the Uttam Galva deal last month.
“In line with our adjusted financial policy and cautious view of the recovery and the assumption that it will be slow and progressive, we are beginning to re-examine selected M&A opportunities,” the ArcelorMittal spokesperson said when asked about the steel maker’s inorganic growth strategy.
