In the biggest acquisition overseas by an Indian company, the Tatas today overwhelmed Brazilian rival Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) to take over Anglo-Dutch steel firm Corus with a $12.1 billion bid, becoming the world`s fifth-largest steelmaker.

Tata Steel’s bid of 608 pence a share in cash topped the best offer from CSN after a nine-round auction that saw bids for Corus rise almost a fifth from the starting price.

The deal is expected to fuel a new wave of consolidation in the fragmented steel sector after Mittal Steel bought Arcelor for $32 billion last year to create the world`s biggest steel producer.

‘‘It is a moment of fulfilment for India... this will prove to be a visionary move,’’ Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata told reporters in Mumbai after announcing victory.

‘‘I have not slept a wink. The entire night I was here (at the Taj hotel in Mumbai) to oversee the auction,’’ he told The Indian Express.

From a room in the hotel, Ratan Tata and Tata Sons Director N Soonawala, Tata Steel Managing Director B Muthuraman and Tata Steel Vice-President (Finance) Kaushik Chatterjee used a video link to coordinate the bids with Tata Sons Director Arun Gandhi in London.

The eight-hour bidding at the auction, overseen by the UK Takeover Panel, went to the ninth and final round. Finally, Tata’s 608 pence a share offer outsmarted CSN’s 603 pence proposal.

J J Irani, former Managing Director of Tata Steel who was present at the news conference today, said: ‘‘When I heard on a TV programme from London that the maximum bid can go as high as 610 pence for Corus, I knew we had won. I switched off the TV and went to sleep.’’ The The Tata threshold was much higher than the 608 pence per share which the company finally paid.

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