Courts in the Netherlands and France refused on Monday to grant injunctions blocking the 30 billion euro (US$41 billion) merger between steel giants Mittal Steel Co NV and Arcelor SA.
Legal actions launched in Rotterdam by three hedge funds and in Paris by an activist shareholder were both rejected by judges, clearing hurdles to the creation of the world's largest steelmaker, as measured by sales.
The steel companies already call themselves ArcelorMittal, but three funds -- SRM Global Master Fund Ltd, Trafalgar Catalyst Fund and Trafalgar Entropy Fund -- went to court last week seeking to block the first phase of the two-step merger, when Rotterdam-based Mittal is to combine with ArcelorMittal SA, a Luxembourg holding company.
In the second phase, ArcelorMittal would merge with Luxembourg-based Arcelor, likely before year's end, creating the world's largest steelmaker by revenue.
Rotterdam Court Judge A.A. Rijperman agreed with Mittal lawyers that she did not have jurisdiction in the case because ArcelorMittal and Arcelor are based in Luxembourg.
"The plaintiffs will be able to fight the second phase of the merger in Luxembourg," Rijperman said.
"There is no way an injunction can take measures in what will be a Luxembourg matter," Rijperman said.
The hedge funds claimed they were shortchanged because they did not take up an initial offer last August that would have given them 11 ArcelorMittal shares for seven Arcelor shares.
After most shareholders took advantage of the offer, it was revised in May to eight ArcelorMittal shares for seven Arcelor shares.
"We are only getting 3.3 percent of a valuable company, and we should be getting 4.4 percent," Philip Price, chief operating officer of SRM Global, told reporters on Wednesday after a hearing at Rotterdam Court.
The funds said the difference in the exchange ratio would cost them 152 million euros.
In France, an injunction request by an activist shareholder who was also upset at the change in the share swap ratio was also rejected.
Philip Price, chief operating officer of SRM, said the hedge funds were "actively considering their options to appeal."
If shareholders approve the deal, as expected, Mittal wants to complete its merger with ArcelorMittal by Monday.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS