London: Mittal Steel on Friday launched a takeover bid for French rival Arcelor worth 18.6 billion euros ($22.7 billion), in an attempt to bring two leading world steel groups together.
Mittal said the bid was based on an offer of 28.21 euros per Arcelor share.
Trading in shares in leading steel groups Arcelor and Mittal Steel was suspended early on Friday, and stock traders said the market was alive with rumours of a possible deal between them.
A trader in London said: "There are loads of rumours circulating. One is that they will form a joint venture to buy Corus." Corus is a British-Dutch steel group.
The dealer added: "I think it's more likely to be Arcelor offloading some of Dofasco to Mittal."
On Tuesday, Arcelor concluded an agreement with Canadian steel-maker Dofasco under which Arcelor would make an agreed takeover bid of 3.95 billion euros ($4.83 billion) for the Canadian group.
This agreement ended a two-month bidding battle with German steel-maker ThyssenKrupp which had withdrawn its interest in Dofasco on Monday.
Another dealer in Paris rejected a rumour that Arcelor and Mittal Steel might be planning to merge. "I don't think it's possible for them to merge. They are number two and number four in the world by capitalisation."
Arcelor declined to comment. Trading in Arcelor shares was suspended on the Paris market, and trading in Mittal Steel was suspended on the Amsterdam exchange.
Meanwhile, the price of shares in ThyssenKrupp surged by 7.98 per cent on the Frankfurt stock exchange.
(With AFP inputs)
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