Tata Steel has come out top in the battle for UK steelmaker Corus after a four-month battle that culminated in an eight hour auction.
The Indian firm triumphed with a bid of 608p a share, which values Corus at 拢6.7bn, including debt. The combined company will become the world鈥檚 fifth largest steelmaker by output.
The auction began at 4.30pm on Tuesday and consisted of nine rounds of bidding. It finished at 12.30am on Wednesday morning. If the bidding rounds had not finished by 2.30am, it would have resumed at 4.30pm.
The Takeover Panel set up the auction to force the hand of Tata and the Brazilian firm CSM after the two began a bidding war in October.
Tata kicked off the battle with a 455p a share offer. Before the auction, it had put in the highest bid of 515p a share.
The battle for Corus reflects the growth in demand for steel in the UK and abroad.
In the UK, the flourishing construction industry is fuelling demand and the booming economies of India and China are competing for supplies.
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