$12.1 billion & Corus is Tata’s

Corus, created from the 1999 merger of British Steel and Dutch group Hoogovens, will triple Tata Steel`s capacity to almost 28 million tonnes a year, from 8.7 million now, at half the cost of building new plants, Muthuraman said.

Reacting to the Corus deal, Sylvain Brunet, head of steel and mining at Exane BNP Paribas, said: ‘‘This creates an incentive for more consolidation in Asia (Japan, China) and in the United States.’’ He added that CSN was a likely predator after missing out on Corus. — (With Reuters)

The big deal, fine print

• The final cash offer of Tata Steel is 608 pence for each Corus share, 34% higher than its first offer in October and 5 pence more than the final offer from CSN.

• Tata offer values Corus at around nine times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the year to September 2006.

• The deal will treble Tata Steel’s capacity to almost 28 million tonnes a year from 8.7 million now at half the cost of building new plants.

• Ratan Tata will be chairman of the new board of Corus to be formed after the takeover.

• Tata Steel will not change any principal locations of Corus group’s business, and will continue to be headquartered in India. (Reuters)