India's Tata Steel Ltd won approval from the European Commission today to buy Anglo-Dutch firm Corus Group, paving the way for the creation of the world's fifth-largest steelmaker.
"The Commission's investigation has found that the proposed transaction would not impede effective competition in the European Economic Area ... as the parties' activities only overlap to a limited extent," the Commission said.
The deal, India's largest ever foreign takeover and worth 4.3 billion pounds, extends a wave of consolidation in the fragmented steel sector and follows Mittal Steel's $32 billion acquisition of Arcelor this year.
The deal gives Tata, India's largest private steelmaker, access to Corus plants in Britain, the Netherlands, France and Belgium and propels it to the world number five position from 56 currently.
The deal, which gives the combined group a 2005 proforma steel production of 23.5 million tonnes, values Corus' output at $440 per tonne compared to $690 per tonne for Mittal's acquisition of Arcelor.