"Mittal Steel announces that on a preliminary basis and based on statements made by financial intermediaries, the minimum tender condition of the offer (i.e acquisition of 50 per cent of Arcelor's outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis) has been met," the company said in a statement.
After an intense battle of nerves that lasted five months since January, the Arcelor Board last month accepted Mittal's improved takeover bid worth $34 billion.
A merger of the two would create the world's largest steel entity Arcelor-Mittal, which would be three times bigger than its nearest rival.
The final results of the offer would be published on July 26, Mittal Steel said. Under the revised offer, Arcelor shareholders would get 13 Mittal Steel shares and 150.60 euros for every 12 Arcelor shares.
If the takeover was accepted by 100 per cent of current Arcelor shareholders, they will end up owning 50.5 per cent of the combined group, with the Mittal family owning 43.6 per cent of the capital and voting rights.
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