Official nod for Mittal's Arcelor bid

LUXEMBOURG: A bid by Mittal Steel to take over Luxembourg-based rival Arcelor got official go ahead.

European stock exchange authorities had given approval for the hostile takeover attempt on Tuesday, according to the Luxembourg exchange regulatory body, which said the bid would be valid from May 18 through 29 June.
 
Mittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said last week he was willing to consider a revised offer after bidding 18.6 billion euros ($23 billion) for Arcelor - a moved which met opposition from Arcelor's board and the French government, which owns a stake in the company.

Mittal added at the time that his company remained resolute in our intention to pursue this transaction to its successful conclusion in an effort to create a combined company that would be the first to have a capacity of 100 million tonnes of steel a year.