Senior executives of steelmaker Arcelor said on 13 March 2006 that they support the company’s future direction and reject the hostile USD 23 billion takeover bid by Mittal Steel. The declaration was made after a day of meetings at Arcelor headquarters in Luxembourg. Rotterdam-based Mittal has claimed that Arcelor shareholders and also some mid-level executives favour the acquisition, but Arcelor says discussions with 50% of its shareholders show that a “huge majority” oppose it.