Arcelor makes counter-punch in Dofasco steel fight

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2006

PARIS (AFP) — The battle for Canadian steel producer Dofasco heated up as European steel giant Arcelor made a third, improved bid for the group in an attempt to trump its German rival ThyssenKrupp.

Arcelor, the second-biggest steel group in the world, has been locked in a two-month bidding war with ThyssenKrupp to seize control of Dofasco. The Canadian group is seen as offering a key to the North American auto industry.

Arcelor said that its new bid of 71 Canadian dollars (61 US dollars, 50 euros) was 4.4 percent higher than a rival offer of 68 Canadian dollars made by ThyssenKrupp on Saturday.

Previous bids by Arcelor have been declared hostile by the management board of Dofasco, which had recommended to shareholders on Saturday that they accept the...