Steel empire expansion bid

British-based tycoon Lakshmi Mittal sought to extend his steel empire today with a dramatic £12.7bn (€18.5bn) move to merge the industry’s two biggest operators.

His company, Mittal Steel, which is already the world’s largest steel group, has launched an offer to buy Arcelor in a deal creating a business with combined revenues of £38.6bn (€56.3bn) and a workforce of 320,000 people.

Mittal said the combination was necessary to create a sustainable operating environment for the steel industry. Shares in former British Steel company Corus rose by as much as 10% as investors eyed further consolidation in the sector.