The price of pride

5 February 2007 By Hugo Dixon Follow @hugodixon

Not necessarily. Ratan Tata may be a national hero after winning the £6.7bn auction for Corus seen as a symbol of the British Empire. But paying over the top for an old steel company in a mature economy may not be in India s, let alone shareholders interests.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

Ratan Tata, chairman of India's Tata Group, told the FT in an interview that Tata Steel had paid very close to its top price to acquire Corus. This had nearly placed management in the position of having to choose between national pride and shareholder value.

We all felt that to lose would go beyond the group and it would be an issue of great disappointment in the country. So on the one hand, you want to do the right thing by your shareholders and on the other hand, you did not want to lose, the FT quoted him as saying.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *