Mittal Steel Company

Mittal Steel Company N.V.

Company type	Public
Industry	Steel manufacturing
Predecessor	Ispat International N.V.
Founded	1989
Founder	Lakshmi Mittal
Defunct	2006
Fate	Merged with Arcelor to form ArcelorMittal
Headquarters	Rotterdam , Netherlands
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Lakshmi Mittal (founder and major shareholder)
Products	Steel
Owner	Lakshmi Mittal and family (44.79%)

Mittal Steel Company N.V., a prominent steel manufacturer incorporated in the Netherlands with its main office located in the United Kingdom, was a leading entity in the steel industry. In 2006, the company produced 110.5 million tonnes of steel and had an annual production capacity reaching 138 million tonnes. That same year, in August, it completed the acquisition of Arcelor, resulting in the establishment of ArcelorMittal.

The firm was initially known as Ispat International N.V. before adopting the name Mittal Steel following its 2004 merger with LNM Holdings N.V.

By 2006, Lakshmi Mittal along with his family held a 44.79% ownership stake, while the remaining 54.74% of shares were available on the public market.

History

Established in 1989 by Lakshmi Mittal, the company experienced rapid growth through a series of strategic acquisitions:

• 1989: Entered into a lease agreement for Iron & Steel Company based in Trinidad & Tobago.
• 1992: Purchased Sibalsa from the Mexican government.
• 1994: Acquired Sidbec-Dosco.
• 1995: Added Hamburger Stahlwerke (leading to the creation of Ispat International Ltd.), Ispat Shipping, and Kazakhstan’s Karmet Steel to its portfolio.
• 1996: Bought Irish Steel, Walzdraht Hochfeld, and Stahlwerk Ruhrort.
• 1997: Completed an initial public offering to become publicly listed.
• 1998: Acquired Inland Steel Company.
• 1999: Took over Unimétal.
• 2001: Expanded by acquiring ALFASID and Sidex.
• 2004: Secured majority control of Iscor, later renamed Mittal Steel South Africa; acquired Polskie Huty Stali, BH Steel, and steel operations from Balkan Steel in Macedonia; merged with LNM Holdings and rebranded as Mittal Steel.
• 2005: Added Tadeusz Sendzimir Steelworks and International Steel Group to its assets; announced a $9 billion investment plan for Jharkhand, India.
• October 2005: Purchased Ukrainian steel producer Kryvorizhstal for $4.8 billion after a previous undervalued sale was annulled.

In July 2006, Mittal Steel revealed intentions to construct a steel plant with a capacity of 12 million tonnes in Odisha, India.

The acquisition of Arcelor in August 2006 for $33 billion resulted in the formation of ArcelorMittal, which commanded close to 10% of worldwide steel production capacity. This merger followed an increased bid and included an arrangement whereby the Mittal family agreed to limit their control without approval from independent directors.