Tata hires Rothschild as advisor in fight for Corus
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 13 December 2006, 18:30 IST
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Mumbai: The tough competition for gaining control over Corus moved another notch up today, as the Tatas, in response to CSN's revised bid of 515 pence per share, roped in UK-based merchant bankers NM Rothschild & Sons as financial advisor for the proposed acquisition. The Economic Times reported this today. Industry sources told the publication that this move will soon be followed by an improved bid by the Indian major for Corus, topping its Brazilian rival Companhia Siderurgica Nacional's (CSN) offer of 515 pence per share. Incidentally, Rothschild will be the third advisor to Tata Steel on the deal, ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank being the other two. "Rothschild will advise Tata Steel on the strategy part of the revised acquisition and may help it raise funds,"said ET's sources. A company spokesperson told the publication: "We shall respond as and when we have something to say on the issue." However, sources close to the company opined that there would be one more advisor to the deal. "The deal is part of the company's long-term strategy and it wouldn't want to let go of it immediately," a person familiar with the development was quoted. In the meanwhile, a news agency reported that Tata Steel might "sell its case" to some major Corus shareholders, including Standard Life Investments. The latter has a 7.8 percent stake in CSN. Incidentally, ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Bank were involved in raising the money for Tata Steel's initial bid of 455 pence, while the additional resources for the revised bid of 500 pence is being funded by Standard Chartered First Bank Korea. Despite investment banking circles being abuzz with reports that the Indian company will top CSN's 515 pence-per-share offer, the Tata Steel spokesperson declined to respond to an ET query about raising its bid further.

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