Click to play videoLondon: Steel tycoon Laxmi Niwas Mittal, riding high on the historic takeover of Luxembourg-based Arcelor Steel, has said that the deal will set an example for Indian companies aiming to expand to other nations.
"I am confident that after this transaction, Indians will be encouraged and confident going abroad and looking for opportunities to have an alliance with them or a partnership with them or merging with them," Mittal said.
Mittal also welcomed Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath's support to the Mittal-Arcelor deal at his World Trade Organisation visit.
"Kamal Nath has been a very important leader even in the WTO and I admire his foresightedness in this respect. He did not see this as LN Mittal vs Arcelor, he saw it in a larger context as India versus the world," he said.
He said that there was a lot of unnecessary emotional outburst against Mittal Steel before the Mittal-Arcelor merger.
"There has been a lot of emotional outburst in the process against Mittal Steel. Arcelor wasn't expecting an unsolicited bid on the company. For them, it was a surprise and they never looked upon it objectively. It became more of a subjective decision and emotions," said Mittal.
Mittal's steely resolve came to the fore as he pursued his $22.7-billion bid for Arcelor on January 27.
For Mittal Steel, the battle has been more political with the Luxembourg and French governments opposing Mittal's moves.
For a brief time, racist noises were also heard in the saga. However, Mittal's lobbying skills did the trick to boost support and of course, the Indian passport and support from Indian government helped.
The final judgment on the $33 billion Mittal-Arcelor bid came on June 25.
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