India's Tata Steel is likely to increase its bid offer for Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus Group PLC to 600 pence a share, AP QUOTED A news report as saying Friday. Tata Steel, locked in a takeover battle with Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, or CSN, will decide on the final pricing of its bid before the Jan. 30 deadline set by the U.K. Takeover Panel for a definite offer from both suitors, The Economic Times daily said. Tata Steel may initially raise its offer to 530 pence per share and depending on CSN's counteroffer, may further increase the offer to 600 pence per share, the newspaper quoted unidentified Tata officials as saying. At 600 pence a share, Corus will be valued at US$11.1 billion (¤8.6 billion), it said. Corus shares were up 1 percent in Friday trading in London at 543 pence (¤8.27; US$10.71) The Indian company's board is also likely to empower Chairman Ratan Tata and Managing Director B. Muthuraman to decide on the final offer price, the daily said. Corus, which employs 47,300 people worldwide, has been searching for a business partner for a year. A takeover by either Tata Steel or CSN would create the world's fifth-largest steel company. It would also continue the consolidation in the global steel industry after Lakshmi Mittal's Mittal Steel Co. acquired Arcelor SA to create a powerhouse which has a 10 percent share of the market. Tata Group is one of India's leading business conglomerates with interests spanning steel, software services, hotels, chemicals and insurance. Its vehicle division, Tata Motors Ltd., makes cars, buses and trucks and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
