Spain has joined France and Luxembourg in opposing Mittal Steel’s USD 24 billion hostile bid for rival Arcelor on 2 February. Politicians in France and Luxembourg have already reacted angrily to Mittal Steel’s bid, despite a charm offensive by Mittal Steel CEO, while Spain had been much less vocal. However, at a meeting in Madrid, Economy Minister Mr Pedro Solbes said Spain would also oppose the bid. "The position of the Spanish government will be in line with the French and Luxembourg governments," an Economy Ministry spokeswoman said. "Neither before nor today have we received any concrete information about the deal, about the industrial strategy, the business plan, about jobs," she added. Mittal Steel’s CFO Mr Aditya Mittal called the meeting with Mr Solbes "good and constructive". CEO Mr LN Mittal at a news conference in Madrid on 2 February said that he would keep working to win governments around to the bid. "The idea is not to have any misgivings or negative relations with other authorities. We’ve started a dialogue and we will continue…to explain the logic of this transaction," he said.
