ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal, S.A.
Société Anonyme
Traded as Euronext: MT
NYSE: MT
BMAD: MTS
LuxSE: MT
Industry Steel
Predecessor Arcelor
Mittal Steel Company
Founded 2006
Headquarters 19, Avenue de la Liberté, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Lakshmi Mittal
(Chairman and CEO)
Aditya Mittal
(CFO)
Products Finished, semi-finished, long and flat products, such as slabs, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, coated steel products, tinplate and heavy plate, as well as billets, blooms, rebars, wire rod, sections, rails, sheet piles and drawn wire
Revenue Decrease US$ 79.44 billion (2013)[1]
Increase US$ 1.197 billion (2013)[1]
Profit Decrease US$ -2.545 billion (2013)[1]
Total assets Decrease US$ 112.30 billion (2013)[1]
Total equity Decrease US$ 49.793 billion (2013)[1]
Number of employees
239,000 (2013)[1]
Website www.arcelormittal.com

ArcelorMittal S.A. (French pronunciation: [aʁsəlɔʁmiˈtal]) is a multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Avenue de la Liberté, Luxembourg. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the world's largest steel producer, with an annual crude steel production of 93.6 million tones as of 2012.[2] It is ranked 91st in the 2013 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's biggest corporations.[3]

History

ArcelorMittal was created by the takeover of Western European steel maker Arcelor (Spain, France, and Luxembourg) by Indian-owned multinational steel maker Mittal Steel in 2006, at a cost of €40.37 per share, approximately $33 billion total. Mittal Steel launched a hostile takeover bid which replaced a previous planned merger between Arcelor and Severstal, which had lacked sufficient shareholder approval. The resulting merged business was named ArcelorMittal and is headquartered in Luxembourg.[4][5]

The resulting firm produced approximately 10% of the world's steel, and was by far the world's largest steel company. Total revenues in 2007 were $105 billion.[6][7] In October 2008, the market capitalisation of ArcelorMittal was over $30 billion.[8]

Plant closings and scale backs

In December 2008, ArcelorMittal announced several plant closings, including the Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna, New York, and LTV Steel in Hennepin, Illinois. After purchase of Kryvorizhstal, Ukraine's largest steel producer, employment was scaled back from 57,000 employees to 30,000.

Price fixing convictions

The firm was part of a 17 steel member groups nicknamed "Club Zürich" that later became known as "Club Europe". During 18 years, the companies fixed the market, prices, and exchanged confidential corporate information. According to Joaquín Almunia, a European Union Commission Vice-President, "It is amazing how such a significant number of companies abused nearly the entire European construction market for such a long time and for such a vital product. This was almost as if they were acting in a planned economy."[9] Fines were particular high for the firm owing to two prior convictions.

Arbitration agreement for reneging on contract with Senegal

The firm entered into a $2.2 billion contract to develop an iron ore deposit in Senegal. This included construction of a 750 km (466 mi) railway line. After stalling on the contract and failing to build according to schedule the Government of Senegal sued. In June 2014, the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration court in Paris awarded Senegal $150 million.[10]

Other history

On 26 January 2011, the Stainless steel division split off as a new company, Aperam.

In 2012 the company had $22 billion of debt.[11] As of 2012, due to overcapacity and reduced demand in Europe it had idled 9 of 25 blast furnaces;[11] in October 2012 it permanently shut down two blast furnaces at Florange, France.[12]

On October 31, 2012, the company reported a third-quarter loss of $709 million as compared to a $659 million profit for the same period a year ago, citing the slow down in China's economy.[13]

In January 2013, ArcelorMittal bid $1.5 billion to acquire ThyssenKrupp AG's rolling mill in Calvert, Alabama, United States.[14] The joint venture with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation was finalized in February 2014.[15]

In September 2013, the government of Senegal won a court case before an international tribunal to rescind a $2.2 billion deal with ArcelorMittal after the company suspended work on an iron ore mine in the country.[16]

In May, 2014, ArcelorMittal, citing economic self-interest, declared its opposition to sanctions on Russia.[17]

Company structure and subsidiaries

Lakshmi Mittal (owner of Mittal Steel) is the chairman and CEO. His family owns 40% of the shares and voting shares in the company.[18]

Headquarters

Headquarters of ArcelorMittal in Luxemburg city
ArcelorMittal Ostrava.

The head office of ArcelorMittal is in Luxembourg City. The building was the head office of Arbed before that company merged with Aceralia and Usinor.[19]

Employees

As of 31 December 2013, the company employed over 232,000 people, of which 37% were in the EU, with a further 16% in non-EU European countries, 17% in Asia, 16% in North America, the remainder split between South America and the Middle East and Africa.[20] ArcelorMittal is also Luxembourg's largest private employer. At the beginning of 2014, it employed 4,600 employees in the Grand Duchy.[21]

Major plant locations

Joint ventures (with Nippon Steel)

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/~/media/Files/A/ArcelorMittal/news-and-media/press-releases/2013/Q412-IR-results-CFO.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. "Top steel-producing companies 2012". World Steel Association. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  3. "91. ArcelorMittal", GLOBAL 500 - Our annual ranking of the world's largest corporations (CNN)
  4. Kanter, James; Timmons, Heather; Giridharadas, Anand (25 June 2006), Arcelor agrees to Mittal takeover, New York Times
  5. Lenard, David M. (7 June 2006), "Arcelor Mittal: The dawn of a steel giant", wwww.atimes.com (Asia Times Online)
  6. Steel firm opts for Mittal offer, BBC News, 25 June 2006
  7. De Smedt, Seraf; Van Hoey, Michel (February 2008), "Integrating steel giants: An interview with the ArcelorMittal postmerger managers", www.mckinseyquarterly.com
  8. "Yahoo Finance: ArcelorMittal, (finance.yahoo.com)". Archived from the original on 27 October 2008.
  9. Antitrust: Commission fines prestressing steel producers € 269 million for two-decades long price-fixing and market-sharing cartel, European Commission Press Release, date=4 April 2011
  10. http://af.reuters.com/article/senegalNews/idAFL6N0ON31B20140606 UPDATE 1-Senegal to receive $150 mln in damages from ArcelorMittal, journal=Reuters, date=June 6, 2014, authors Diadie Ba in Dakar and Silvia Antonioli in London; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
  11. 11.0 11.1 A Global Steel Giant Scales Back, New York Times, 25 July 2012 |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  12. Kessler, Vincent (1 October 2012), "ArcelorMittal confirms French furnace closures", uk.reuters.com
  13. "Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Posts $709M 3Q Loss.". The New York Times.
  14. Reuters (17 January 2013). "ArcelorMittal bids $1.5 billion for ThyssenKrupp's Alabama plant". Reuters.
  15. Finch II, Michael (26 February 2014). "Sale of ThyssenKrupp Steel USA clears all regulatory approval". The Press-Register. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  16. Senegal wins court case against Arcelor Mittal -government, International: Reuters, 2013
  17. ArcelorMittal Opposes Western Sanctions Against Russia, Reuters, 2014
  18. Shareholding structure, ArcelorMittal, retrieved 5 October 2012, The following table sets forth information on 30 September 2012 with respect to the beneficial ownership and voting rights of ArcelorMittal shares
  19. Arcelor-Mittal : un siège au Luxembourg (in French), Le Journal du Net, retrieved 5 October 2012
  20. ArcelorMittal annual review 2013, ArcelorMittal, Allocation of employees at December 31, 2013 according to geographical location
  21. "Les plus gros employeurs du Luxembourg sont...", www.lessentiel.lu (in French), 2 July 2014
  22. "ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corporation Announce $240 million Expansion at I/N Kote in New Carlisle, Indiana". Bloomberg L.P. 16 April 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  23. Finch II, Michael (26 February 2014). "Sale of ThyssenKrupp Steel USA clears all regulatory approval". Press-Register (Mobile, Alabama). Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  24. "ArcelorMittal AM/NS Calvert Webpage".

External links

Wikinews has related news: Arcelor declares merger with Mittal Steel