MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's prime minister said Monday he hoped that the merger of Severstal (RTS: CHMF), Russia's largest steelmaker, and world No. 2 Arcelor, would be finished by July 20.
Mikhail Fradkov said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that the government supported the deal and would do everything possible to make it a success.
The merger, announced Friday, will create the world's largest steel producer if it goes ahead. The federal anti-monopoly service has yet to examine the deal, and could yet shoot it down.
The companies said in a joint press release Friday that the new steel giant "will be the Number 1 steel company in the world with 46 billion euros [$60 bln] in sales ... and 70 million tons of production" based on last year's results.
Under the deal, Severstal's principal shareholder, Alexei Mordashov, will swap his stake in Severstal, Severstal-resurs, and Italy's Lucchini, plus 1.25 bln euros (about $1.62 bln) in cash, for an additional issue of 295 million Arcelor shares, at a rate of 44 euros per share ($56).
As a result, Mordashov will have a 32% stake in the merger, with the other 68% being held by Arcelor's current shareholders.
At the same time, Mordashov said that Severstal would remain a Russian company and legal entity registered in Russia and paying its taxes in Russia.
