News: Lakshmi Mittal sets sights on China, India

(RTR 30/06/2006) London - Mittal Steel, the world's No. 1 steel company which agreed a 25.6 billion euro ($32.54 billion) deal to acquire rival Arcelor, has its sights set on further acquisitions in emerging markets such as China and India, its Chairman Lakshmi Mittal said on Friday.

"At this point, we will focus on China and India," Mittal told Reuters in an exclusive interview, when asked about the group's future acquisition strategy.

Mittal was speaking hours after Arcelor's shareholders rejected an alternate merger deal with Russian peer Severstal, clearing the way for a combination of the world's two largest steelmakers after a five-month bitter battle.

"We never expected it would be so difficult, with so many hurdles and obstacles," Mittal, the world's fifth richest man, said at his office in London's upmarket Mayfair district.

Mittal, 56, said the combined group would be "at least five years ahead of competition," and spur consolidation across the sector.

"It will also pave the way for other steel companies to take this sort of consolidation seriously," he said.

Despite the size of the deal, the Arcelor-Mittal group will control just 10 percent of the global steel market.