January 31, 2007 | posted by Michael Baxter in IABN |

It’s been a game of bid and counter bid, but at last it would seem Corus’s fate has been sealed.

When India’s Tata Steel first offered to buy Corus, the price on the table was £4.1 billion, and some worried the Indian company couldn’t really afford the price tag - that it would need to borrow too heavily.

And yet, the price just kept going up. Brazilian Steel company CSN entered the fray, and Corus seemed to be saying yes to both parties. Fluttering its eyelashes, the wanton company seemed to be happy to jump in the sack with either of its two suitors. Then rumours even suggested Mittal Steel may enter the bidding battle.

The Big problem that besets Corus is lack of locally sourced raw materials. CSN’s big USP was that it did have access to local iron ore mines.

Tata, on the other hand, provided access to the burgeoning Indian economy - set to be an increasingly important advantage in the years ahead.

And while some feared it was too much money for the Indian firm, others pointed out that the parent company was 138 years old, and the second largest firm in India - so it’s had plenty of time to practise the game of business.

Well now we know. Finally, Corus has said yes to Tata. The final offer is worth £5.7 billion, or 608p a share. So that’s even more gearing than originally envisaged, but then everyone seems to be gearing up to the hilt at the moment (Not sure if that is good though).

So, the newly enlarged Tata Steel will rise from being the world’s 56th largest steel maker to 5th largest. That’s quite a jump up the rankings.

Ratan Tata, chairman of the group, said: “Over the next few years, we will come to think this was a very visionary move that has had long-term repercussions that are very positive for India#133;When we made our first bid to acquire (Corus) many thought it was an audacious move.”

With the high level of gearing it’s certainly not a move without risk. But then the Indian market offers the potential of huge riches in the years to come, but no one will take advantage of this opportunity through being timid.