London, May 26: British steel titan LNM group owned by NRI Lakshmi Mittal and US Steel Corp said they have formed an alliance to bid for control of Ukrainian steel producer Oao Kryvorizhstal, one of the country's most profitable state assets, which is scheduled to be privatized next month. By joining forces, Pittsburgh-based US steel and LNM, the world's sixth-and second-largest steel makers, join a global who's who of producers preparing to bid for Kryvorizhstal. LNM holdings Vice-Chairman Aditya Mittal estimated its annual steel production at around 6.5 million tons.
A joint bid by LNM and US Steel "brings a lot to the table," said Mittal, noting that the two companies have captured virtually all steel-producing assets privatized in Central and Eastern Europe in the past few years.
Mittal declined to give a precise split on the joint venture, saying only that US Steel has a "modest minority" position. Three others are gunning for the company: Luxembourg-based Arcelor SA, the world's biggest producer by tonnage, and Russia's number-two maker Oao Severstal, in a joint bid, and Indian major TATA Iron and Steel Co. Bureau Report