the chessboard is set ....

tata paid 12 billion $$$$$ for corus !

.... as in ’barah aur nau shunya’ ....

Mittal now has Tata for company

For $12 billion, Ratan Tata bought himself a seat at global steel’s top table. Right next to another Indian, Lakshmi Nivas Mittal.

Arcelor-Mittal is the world’s biggest steel producer. The Corus-Tata deal combine will be the fifth largest steel company in the world. Both will be major presences in Europe, where the modern era’s industrial revolution began, powered by industrial-scale production of cheap steel. The deal will rewrite the history of European industry. In steel, at least, power has shifted from the capitals of erstwhile colonial empires to their former colonies.

India is also set to emerge as the fifth largest steel producer by 2007-end. Currently ranked seventh, the 19 million tonnes brought in by Corus will push Indian-owned capacity to fifth place, nudging out Germany and South Korea.

With Mittal and Tata now the top two steel producers in Europe, the focus will shift eastwards. And the looming presence of China....