(6 Feb 2006)
1. Exterior of Belgium Prime Minister's office
2. Arrival of Arcelor CEO Guy Dolle in car
3. Cutaway press
4. Dolle entering building
5. SOUNDBITE: (French) Elio Di Rupo, President of the Region of Wallonia:
"We will only take stance on this situation following a detailed examination of the issues. This dossier will last several months."
6. Wide of press
7. Exit of Guy Dolle in car
8. Exit of Mittal CEO in car
9. Arrival of Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian Prime Minister for press point
10. SOUNDBITE: (French) Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian Prime Minister:
"We've asked both Mittal and Arcelor for full collaboration and cooperation from their companies so that we can analyse their industrial projects. The most important thing for the Belgian authorities, as much for the Flemish government, as for the government of Wallonia and the Federal government, is a rational approach. What is important for us is production, investment, employment, and of course, innovation and research in that sector which is very important for our country."
11. Exterior of Prime Minister's office
STORYLINE:
The chief executives of Mittal Steel Co. and Arcelor SA met with the Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt separately on Monday.
They are seeking support in their dispute over Mittal's unsolicited 22.5 (b) billion US dollars bid for the Luxembourg-based steelmaker.
Arcelor has rejected the offer as hostile, with Chief Executive, Guy Dolle slating the takeover plan as a way for Mittal to generate cash needed for outdated plants in Eastern Europe.
In Belgium, which is home to 12-thousand Arcelor workers, the government has not voiced any opposition to the deal despite strong criticism from France, Spain and Luxembourg last week.
The Belgian government instead, stated that it was looking for full cooperation from both companies so that it could undertake a full analysis of any future projects.
"The most important thing for the Belgian authorities, as much for the Flemish government, as for the government of Wallonia and the Federal government, is a rational approach. What is important for us is production, investment, employment, and of course, innovation and research in that sector which is very important for our country." said Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian Prime Minister
Arcelor, created in 2002 from a merger of French, Luxembourg, Belgian and Spanish steel interests, employs just over 94-thousand workers: almost 30-thousand in France, 12,500 in Belgium and 6-thousand in Luxembourg, where it is the country's largest employer.
The Spanish and Luxembourg governments said last week that they opposed the deal, after Lakshmi Mittal, the company's chairman and chief executive met leaders in both countries to explain the bid.
The takeover bid, announced January 27, would join the world's No. 1 and No. 2 steelmakers, with nearly a 10 percent share of global steel production and a market capitalisation close to 40 (b) billion US dollars.
Mittal Steel is the biggest U.S. supplier of high-grade, high-margin auto steel; Arcelor occupies the same position in Europe. The new company would have almost 350-thousand employees at 61 plants in 27 countries, but a few areas of overlap could cause antitrust problems.
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