Forbes – Arcelor SA still believes it can fend off the Mittal Steel Co NV takeover bid, but does see the need for consolidation in the steel industry, chief executive Guy Dolle said according to the pre-release of an interview to appear in Die Welt tomorrow.

The CEO said he has seen no signs on the investor road show that the company’s shareholders want to accept Mittal’s 18.6 bln eur takeover offer, contrary to statements made by Mittal.

‘Our shareholders are very happy with our current performance and the growth plan,’ Dolle told the newspaper, adding that the shareholders still favour the independence of the company.

‘Mittal Steel and Arcelor do not complement each other’ the CEO said, adding that ‘a merger should amount to more than the sum of the two parts’.

Dolle added that he feels his arguments against the takeover are good and Arcelor’s outlook is ‘more than good’.

He does not see this jeopardized by the entrance of hedge funds as shareholders.

The newspaper said that short term financial investors currently hold between 25-30 pct of Arcelor’s shares.

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