Jan 2 2007
At its Annual Press Conference on December 1, 2006, ThyssenKrupp AG announced that it would exhaust every possibility to bring about the sale of the Canadian steel producer Dofasco to ThyssenKrupp, as bindingly agreed by Mittal Steel. This includes the legal enforcement of the claims arising out of the Letter Agreement signed by Mittal Steel and ThyssenKrupp on January 26, 2006.
Dofasco is currently owned by a Netherlands-based foundation to which Arcelor transferred the Dofasco shares in its defense against Mittal Steel. On November 10, 2006, the directors of the foundation decided not to transfer the Dofasco shares back to Arcelor even after the takeover situation had ended. In doing so the foundation ignored corresponding requests from the boards of Arcelor and Mittal Steel.
To enforce its claim to acquire Dofasco before the Letter Agreement expires, ThyssenKrupp has now initiated legal action.
The action is based on the legal expertise of a leading independent Netherlands-based foundation expert as well as advice from external legal experts. The aim of the action against Mittal Steel is to secure the release of Dofasco from the foundation and allow the sale to ThyssenKrupp.