December 02, 2008

Arcelor minority shareholders abandon plan to block merger meeting

Reuters reported that a group of minority shareholders in Arcelor said that they had dropped plans to lodge an injunction to block a meeting needed to complete the steel maker's merger with parent ArcelorMittal

Mr Bruno de Kerviler head of the shareholder group explaining that time was running short and there was little chance of getting an injunction from a Luxembourg court told Reuters "We will not file an injunction.”

Mr Kerviler said that “We still plan legal action on the heart of the case but this will not stop the merger from going through. We would seek damages for what it saw as an unfair exchange ratio.”

The group had previously filed an injunction in Paris in August 2007 to block a shareholder meeting needed to clear the deal.

The shareholder meeting is due to take place on November 5th 2007.