World's largest steel maker Laxmi Mittal

IANS | 11 Apr, 2008
Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel maker, won approval from the European Union (EU) Thursday to form a flat carbon steel joint venture (JV) with Swedish company BE Sverige.

"The proposed transaction would not impede effective competition," the European Commission said in a statement.

ArcelorMittal was a leading global steel company based in Luxembourg. BE Sverige, which belongs to BE Group, is a steel distribution company on the Scandinavian market and is active in the steel service centre sector in Sweden.

Steel service centres specialise in the finishing and processing of steel for the purpose of fabricating, plating or moulding steel parts.

The 50-50 JV would combine the steel service centre activities of the parties in Sweden.

ArcelorMittal said last month it would create the third largest player in the market with sales of more than 80 million euros ($126.4 million) per year.