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Viewing cable 06THEHAGUE253, DUTCH VIEWS ON MITTAL'S TAKEOVER BID FOR ARCELOR

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06THEHAGUE253 2006-02-06 15:49 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy The Hague
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 000253 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EU MEMBER STATES 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UBI, EUR/ERA, EB/TPP/BTA 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS USTR 
 
E.O. 12356: N/A 
TAGS: EIND ECON ETRD LU NL OECD EUN
SUBJECT: DUTCH VIEWS ON MITTAL'S TAKEOVER BID FOR ARCELOR 
 
REF: A) LUXEMBOURG 31 
     B) LUXEMBOURG 45 
 
1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY.  Dutch industry and financial experts 
see Amsterdam-traded Mittal Steel's takeover bid for Arcelor 
as part of a continuing consolidation of the European steel 
industry.  If the takeover succeeds, antitrust concerns 
would likely prevent Mittal from going after other leading 
European steel makers.  If it fails, however, the Anglo- 
Dutch firm Corus -- number three in Europe and the only 
active steel producer in the Netherlands -- might find 
itself on Mittal's shopping list.  While much of the 
opposition to Mittal's bid for Arcelor is motivated by a 
fear of job losses, consolidation and cost-cutting may be 
the most effective way for Europe's steel industry to face 
the growing competitive challenge from China.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (SBU)  As reported in the press and reftels, Mittal 
Steel, the world's largest steel company, launched an 
unsolicited bid to take over Luxembourg-based Arcelor, 
Europe's largest steel company.  The following is a summary 
of Econoff's discussions with various industry and financial 
experts on the possible implications of such a move in the 
Netherlands. 
 
SEEKING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH CONSOLIDATION 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
3.  (SBU)  Although Mittal Steel NV (87 percent owned by the 
Mittal family and run out of its London offices) is 
incorporated in the Netherlands, legally headquarted in 
Rotterdam, and traded on the Amsterdam and New York stock 
exchanges, the Anglo-Dutch concern Corus is the only active 
steel production facility in the Netherlands.  While 
declining to comment directly on how Mittal's bid might 
affect her company's future strategy, Truus Valkering, 
Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Corus 
Steel, explained that consolidation in the steel sector is a 
logical response to consolidation in surrounding industries. 
Both companies that supply raw materials and companies that 
buy processed steel (e.g., the automotive industry) have 
increased their size and bargaining power.  To sustain its 
competitive advantage in both directions, the steel industry 
also needs to consolidate. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Charles Spencer, Steel Analyst for Morgan 
Stanley's London office, added that such a move could 
accelerate consolidation in the steel sector.  As Corus 
would be better positioned within a larger group, such as 
the Mittal family, the deal might also stimulate Corus' 
management to defensive actions.  Sander Stuijt, Vice 
President of Commodities for ABN AMRO (the Netherlands' 
largest bank) also expected continued consolidation in the 
steel sector.  With the two main predators in the takeover 
market, Mittal and Arcelor, busy battling each other, Stuijt 
predicted that the remaining players in the market would 
seek a greater balance in bargaining power, which has 
continued to shift as Mittal has grown. 
 
'BETTER THEM THAN US' 
--------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU)  Citing analyst reports, Marcel de Kleer, 
Portfolio Manager for Dutch investor Palladyne Asset 
Management, described Mittal's offer to buy Arcelor as 
potentially "transformational" for Mittal and the industry. 
Greater share liquidity, improved corporate governance and a 
higher dividend payout could increase investor confidence in 
the coming years. 
 
 
6.  (SBU)  Gilles Calis, Managing Consultant of Amsterdam- 
based Steel Consult International, highlighted strategic 
market factors.  A joining of Mittal and Arcelor would 
create a powerful new company (with nearly 10 percent of 
global steel production), operations close to Corus' home 
market (the Arcelor sites), and the added weight of the 
Mittal family conglomerate.  Such a takeover would likely 
prevent other future takeovers, as further consolidation 
would conflict with EU competition policy.  Other companies 
would clearly rather see Mittal take over Arcelor than their 
own operations.  However, this strategic advantage could 
quickly become a disadvantage if the takeover failed, as 
Mittal's ambitions might then be directed at European steel 
companies numbers two and three: ThyssenKrupp and Corus. 
 
COMMENT - RESHAPING EUROPE'S STEEL SECTOR 
----------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU)  A successful takeover of Arcelor by Mittal would 
reshape the playing field in Europe's steel sector.  It 
would create a dominant player in the European market, 
ending both companies' options to buy up other steel 
companies in the region.  This could either leave Corus in a 
comfortable niche position, or drive it into the arms of 
ThyssenKrupp in search of further consolidation.  But if 
Mittal's bid to buy Arcelor fails, Corus may well be its 
next prey.  This would not likely affect Corus' state-of-the- 
art steel production in the Netherlands, but it could pose a 
serious threat to its less efficient UK operations.  (The 
Corus operation in Wales has higher operating costs and 
lacks its own coke factory, which makes it dependent on 
imports of high-cost inputs.) 
8.  (SBU)  The strong opposition to the Mittal takeover bid 
on Arcelor's home ground in Luxembourg, France, Belgium, and 
Spain partly stems from fears that rationalization of the 
merged firm would lead to significant job losses.  But Corus 
execs have told us that they see their principal competitive 
challenge as coming from China's rapidly growing steel 
industry.  This challenge will only intensify if a downturn 
in Chinese steel demand causes excess Chinese steel to be 
unloaded cheaply in other markets.  Mittal's forced 
rationalization of Europe's steel industry could be the 
sector's best long-run hope for ensuring efficiency and 
price stability. 
 
BLAKEMAN