Standard Life offloads entire 7.5% stake in Corus

LONDON: Leading global investment firm Standard Life Investments (SLI), the biggest shareholder in London-based Corus PLC on Wednesday sold its entire 7.5 per cent stake in the firm.

"We would like to thank the Corus management team and employees, particularly Phillippe Varin for delivering the recovery that made this bid possible. Tata have now paid a fair price. We are happy with the outcome," SLI head of UK equities David Cummings said.

The offloading of SLI's entire stake in Corus, comes after Corus formally endorsed Tata Steel's 608 pence per share bid from Tata Steel, which defeated rival Brazilian firm Companhia Siderurgica Nacional PLC's 603 pence per share offer.

"Given that the price of the final Tata Offer is five pence above that of the final CSN offer, the directors believe that it represents the best value for Corus shareholders," Corus said in a regulatory filing to the LSE.

The Tata deal is expected to create the fifth-largest steel player in the world with annual steel output of around 25 million metric tonnes per year and 87,000 employees, according to the companies.