Mergers, Acquisitions and Takeovers Case Study

MITTAL'S Master Stroke: Building Global Empire Through Acquisitions

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Abstract:
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (popularly known as LNM), also called the 'Carnegie of Steel', built his steel empire by aggressively acquiring poorly performing steel plants at low prices in 14 countries across the globe, like Trinidad and Tobago, Kazakhstan, Romania, Germany, Poland, Canada and America, and turning them into money-making ventures. He is considered to be an industry visionary, spotting trends much before his contemporaries and investing accordingly. In October 2004, Mittal acquired the International Steel Group of the US for US$4.5 billion and became the largest steel producer in the world, surpassing the world leader, Arcelor. Two years later it made an audacious bid to acquire Arcelor and the combined Arcelor-Mittal Steel became the undisputed leader of the global steel industry, three times larger than the second biggest steel company, Nippon Steel. The case study offers scope for discussion about the acquisition strategy, adopted by Mittal and how it helped him to become the market leader.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To the current and future levels of consolidation in the global steel industries
• To consolidation as a major strategy in the steel industry.
• To the steel industry value chain.
• To the risks that companies like Mittal Steel, would encounter.

Keywords : Arcelor-Mittal Steel Group, Arcelor, Mittal Steel, Steel industry value chain, Backward integration, Forward integration, Nippon Steel, Riotinto, CVRD (Companhia Vale do Rio Doce), Primary steel making, Secondary steel making, Finished steel making, BHP-Billiton, Global steel industry, Baosteel

Contents : 
Laxmi Niwas Mittal: Indian Roots, Global Ambition
The Global Steel Industry
Growth Of Mittal Steel: A Series Of Turnarounds
The Acquisition Strategy: Lnm Group’s Road To Success
The House Of Mittal
Top Five Steel Producing Country
Arcelor-Mittal Steel Combined