News: 'Tatas offer for Corus still valid'

(PTI 28/11/2006) Kolkata - In its first official comment on the Corus deal since a rival bid came up, Tata Steel today said that its offer for buying out the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker remains valid in spite of a counter bid from Brazil's CSN.

"We made an offer for Corus on October 20. That remains valid," T Mukherjee, deputy managing director of Tata Steel, said today on the sidelines of a metals seminar here.

Asked whether Tata Steel would revise its bid to match the CSN offer, he refused to comment.

India's largest private steel manufacturer had offered to buyout Corus at a price of 455 pence per share with a total deal size valued at $ 8.1 billion.

Subsequently, CSN made a counter offer at a price of 475 pence per share, which valued Corus at $8.5 billion.

Before the CSN bid, Tata Steel's managing director B Muthuraman had said that 455 pence was a fair value to the investors of Corus. Standard Life, which holds 7.8% stake in Corus, was unhappy with Tata Steel's offer saying it undervalued the company.