The defence should not rest

13 February 2006 By Hugo Dixon Follow @hugodixon

Merely whingeing about how Mittal is trying to buy it on the cheap with overvalued paper however valid won t be enough. It also needs to give its own investors some red meat, to show that it really is working in their interests.

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The French government is considering a merger between Arcelor and Eramet, according to Reuters. Members of the finance ministry believe that the acquisition of the nonferrous metals producer would discourage Mittal Steel from pursuing its E19bn bid for Luxembourgregistered Arcelor.

Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and majority owner of Mittal Steel, said on Friday that a merger of Arcelor and Mittal would create a large European company that could stand up against exporters such as China. Lakshmi Mittal, President and Chief Financial Officer of Mittal Steel, explained to the Wall Street Journal that the idea of a merger between the world's two largest steel producers occurred to him when he found that rivalry between the two was pushing up the price of steel plants in auctions.

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