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CHICAGO, Feb 28 (AFP): Global steel giant Mittal Steel ruled out yesterday raising the price on its 23-billion-dollar takeover bid for Arcelor as it prepared to present its case to angry European governments.
"We think our offer is fair, especially because Mittal Steel shares are currently overvalued," Roland Baan, chief executive of Mittal Steel Europe, told reporters during a tour of company sites in the United States.
"The financial benefits of the merger are very significant," he said, after the world's largest steel group sparked a political storm by launching an 18.6-billion-euro (22.7-billion- dollar) bid for Europe's Arcelor last month.
The hostile bid has provoked anger, particularly in France, whose President Jacques Chirac has railed against the potential impact on jobs at Arcelor.
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