Mittals takeover
Friday, June 30, 2006
I was one of the happiest person to hear the news that Arcelor board has accepted the more sweetened offer from Mittal, one of our own. I always have a soft corner for him that he still holds an Indian passport, given the benefits he could have accrued just by acquiring an European one, which in his case should not be a big deal. I think, this single decision of him has prompted the Indian government to stand as a pillar behind him and most of all, the people of India to see this as a success by an Indian.
As the dust settles and specs of the deal emerges, it actually looks that Arcelor has taken over Mittal, rather than the other way round. Arcelor will have more board of directors in the combined company and the headquarters of the combined Arcelor-Mittal would be Luxembourg, rather than Amsterdam where Mittal steel was based. Further Lakshmi N.Mittal will will be the President and Joseph kinsch, current chairman of Arcelor would be the acting Chairman of the combined company thereby overshadowing Mittal. Further, Mittal would have less than 45 percent of the combined company. These points raises one important question in any thinking mind. Why did Mittal gave up so much to make this deal?
The answers are fairly clear as pointed out overtly by Business-week report and others. Arcelor bringing in Severstal as the white knight would definitely make things tougher for this Indian born billionaire's Mittal steel to maintain its influence and be competitive in the long run. Moreover, Mittal's meteoric rise in a short span of time could have made him a quick billionaire, but the world's largest steel maker does not have the strong foundation and the empire has the risk of tumbling as quick as it rose. But, by sealing this deal, Mittal could have got out of both these problems. He effectively ousted Severstal out of the game and made his company more stronger and "safer" by combining it with a company that has a long history and often sighted as the jewel of European industry. He also got out of a mess the fast rise of Mittal steel could have brought in the short or long run.
Even though he is relegated to the back seat of the combined company, I see this as a momentary setup. I believe he is going to rise like a phoenix very soon after the deal is 100 percent fixed. So, even though the particulars of the deal and the numbers show it as something that Lakshmi overpaid, but in the long run, Lakshmi has actually fixed up a much bigger problem that was in the anvil. This again stands testimony to this Indian's foresight and perseverance despite all odds. This is the stuff successful people are made of.
My wishes for more success to this man.
Posted byPraveen J at 12:21 PM
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Hmmmm. I agree with almost everything you've written, but I don't think that having a soft corner for him, only because he was a born Indian and holds an Indian passport, is all that cool.
Hello Rishit,
I believe, after so many years out of India, still going thru the rules of a foreigner in Europe is a decision to be applauded. He deserves kudos for it and none of the so called successful NRI's have done that till now. They attain overseas passport in the first possible opportunity. If he had held the European passport by now, am sure the takeover of Arcelor would have been much more easier, given that technically the company will still be associated with Europe, which was one of the main unsaid concerns of the French and Luxembourg governments, who are stake holders of Arcelor.
hey, i have a lot of respect for him for still holding an indian passport, but no soft corner!i dont find a reason for a soft corner..he has defintely made every indian proud with whatever he has done..
hey u must be enjoying soccer, are you?:P
Sure the Soccer fever has caught up wid me as wel. Being in Germany one can't virtually escape it. I must admit that I wasn't really interested in soccer before the world cup and now catching up almost every match.
Moreover, this Germany is really new to me. From absolutely quiet traffic to honking cars, mostly reserved Germans joining in hoards for public screening of d matches is really cool.
But that's what my point is. Why should somebody born on one particular piece of land be given more importance than some other person who was born on some other piece of land? Should not they be treated as equals? Especially when the borders of these pieces of land are decided based on nothing else but some stupid sense of nationality, which is nothing but an euphemism for irrational discrimination.
Rishit,
If ur talking abt equal opportunities to all, yes I agree with you. But thats idealistic. Globalization, which aims to blind d borders has not done it yet. I live here in Europe for almost 3 years now. As an Indian in a foreign country, I am governed by the rules of this land that apply to India. So are the other Indians, which include LNM, in our case. So that said, you know how the Indians survive here? by forming a common network using yahoo groups, websites et al. That said, why are Indians taking only help from their compatriots. There are of course other foreigners and Germans here. Why aren't these people coming forward to help me and make my stay here as pleasant as possible. Thats not simply happening. B'cos its not practical yet. People still live with borders entrenched in their mind. Culture also plays a huge role in it. Whats fun for me is funny for others and the other way round is always a possibility. My taste buds demand more spice than the bland german food. All said, in practice, unlike in theory, community of commanality does bring in a soft corner. Here in Europe, if I have a question in mind, and if there are two people who can answer them, one an Indian and the other of any other nationality, I would prefer to pose it to an Indian. The reason is fairly obvious that I can be fairly sure that his response would be more appropriate to my case. So, I think having a soft corner bcos of the commanlity I share with LNM should be fine.
I agree that this is the current situation, and I am not even questioning it. But you and me know what should be the ideal situation, what is the path ahead. Then why don't we make a conscious effort to move ahead on that path? Why do we still, consciously, want to be stuck in the current situation?