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Mumbai:
A group of minority shareholders in Arcelor led by Bruno de Kerviler has dropped
plans to get a court injunction to block a planned meeting on November 5 to complete
the steelmaker''s merger with ArcelorMittal. Kerviler,
who heads an investor group representing six per cent of the Arcelor stock, said
time was short and there was little chance of getting an injunction from a Luxembourg
court before the scheduled 5 November meeting. Arcelor
accepted a €26 billion ($37 billion) offer from Mittal Steel last year, but
six per cent of its shareholders decided not to tender their shares. The
group had previously filed an injunction in Paris in August to block a shareholder
meeting needed to clear the deal. ArcelorMittal
is now offering eight of its shares for seven in Arcelor to the minority shareholders,
against the takeover offer of 11 for seven last year. Kerviler
said the ratio is too low. ArcelorMittal dismissed criticism that it is paying
too little. Another
minority shareholder group, meanwhile, said it had no plans to seek to block the
deal despite deeming it unfair. ArcelorMittal,
which already functions as a single entity aims to finalise the merger in November
and needs shareholders'' nod for it.
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