John Wolz

A long bidding war will be resolved in a 10-hour auction January 31 for Corus, the Anglo/Dutch steelmaker and wire supplier.

Tata Steel of India and CSN of Brazil have been in a biding war for Corus for months “but neither has come up with a knock-out offer so far,” Fastener & Fixing Europe editor Phil Matten explained. “If that does not materialize by Tuesday, both have now agreed to the terms of the auction proposed by the UK Takeover Panel a deadlock solution only used twice since it was introduced in 2002.”

Close to collapse five years ago, Corus shares are now at their highest in seven years.

The acquisition of Corus by either CSN or Tata would create the world’s fifth largest steel group. �2007 FastenerNews.com and Fastener & Fixing Europe