The Spanish government said on March 1 that it had received details of the takeover plan of Mittal Steel for European steel maker Arcelor, but judged the information to be "insufficient" to alleviate doubts about the operation. The statement from Spanish government, anxious to preserve the jobs of 15,000 Arcelor workers in the country, was the first official reaction in Spain to the plans, which are expected to include details about future strategy of the merged groups and employment.
Mittal Steel, which has made an 18.6-billion-euro (US$22.7 billion) hostile bid for Arcelor, said on Feb. 28 that it had sent the broad outlines of its plans for Arcelor to governments concerned by the takeover.
Arcelor, the second biggest steel producer in the world, was formed in 2002 by a merger of French steel group Usinor with Spanish group Aceralia and Luxembourg's Arbed.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
