ArcelorMittal S.A. 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. It is ranked 91st in the
2013 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's biggest corporations.
History ArcelorMittal was created by the takeover
of Western European steel maker Arcelor 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.
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. In October 2008,
the market capitalisation of ArcelorMittal was over $30 billion.
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." 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 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.
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.
As of 2012, due to overcapacity and reduced demand in Europe it had idled 9 of 25 blast
furnaces; in October 2012 it permanently shut down two blast furnaces at Florange, France.
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. In January 2013, ArcelorMittal bid $1.5 billion
to acquire ThyssenKrupp AG's rolling mill in Calvert, Alabama, United States. The joint
venture with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation was finalized in February 2014.
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. In May, 2014, ArcelorMittal, citing economic
self-interest, declared its opposition to sanctions on Russia despite Russia's invasion
and occupation of Crimea and support of militant forces in eastern Ukraine.
Company structure and subsidiaries Lakshmi Mittal is the Chairman and CEO. His
family owns 40% of the shares and voting shares in the company.
Headquarters
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.
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. ArcelorMittal is also Luxembourg's largest private employer.
At the beginning of 2014, it employed 4,600 employees in the Grand Duchy.
Major plant locations Ispat International
Mittal Steel Company International Steel Group
Bethlehem Steel Republic Steel
LTV-Steel Acme Steel
Arcelor Aceralia
Usinor ARBED
Kryvorizhstal, UA Ostrava, CZ
Katowice Steelworks, PL Tadeusz Sendzimir Steelworks, PL
Hunedoara steel works, RO Galați steel works, RO
Joint ventures New Carlisle, Indiana, USA
AM/NS Calvert. Formerly named ThyssenKrupp Steel USA and located in Calvert, Alabama,
the facility was purchased from ThyssenKrupp through a 50/50 joint partnership with Nippon
Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp in February 2014 for $1.5 billion and renamed AM/NS Calvert.
A greenfield construction project which began in 2007, the facility began operation in 2010
and has a production capacity of 5.3 million tons and includes a hot strip mill, cold roll
mill and 4 coating lines. Products from the facility are marketed in the NAFTA region
through managing partner ArcelorMittal. See also
ArcelorMittal Orbit List of steel producers
References
External links Official website
official website germany official website luxembourg