Arcelor Mittal's bid for Chinese steel maker under review for higher price

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2007

BEIJING (AFP) — Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel maker, has been asked by Chinese authorities to raise its bidding price for a stake in China's Laiwu Steel Corp, a company source said Tuesday.

"(Authorities) want the price to be reviewed," a source with the Luxembourg-based company told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Arcelor signed a deal to buy a 38.4 percent stake in Laiwu Steel, a listed unit of the Laigang Group based in the eastern province of Shandong, for two billion yuan (258 million dollars) in February 2006, ahead of its own merger with Mittal.

Previous reports said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top planning agency, had turned down the deal because it thought the price was too low and was worried about...