Shares in Corus Group climbed today following a newspaper report that Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich was in talks to buy a stake in the Anglo-Dutch steel maker.
Russia's Kommersantbusiness daily quoted banking sources as saying Abramovich, the billionaire owner of English soccer champions Chelsea, had started talks with Corus about taking a minority stake in the firm.
The newspaper speculated the deal might be in exchange for a 40 per cent stake in Evraz Group, Russia's largest steel maker by domestic volume, which Abramovich is trying to buy.
Corus declined to comment on the report, which sent its London-listed shares up as much as 2.6 per cent.
Media reports of a merger between Evraz and Corus surfaced in March and analysts said a tie-up would make sense.
"Corus is definitely interested in doing a deal with somebody who's in a low-cost country, who have got some of their own raw materials and where the economy has got some growth, said Oriel Securities analyst Mark Hudson.
A tie-up between Corus and Evraz would be the latest in a string of moves to consolidate the still-fragmented steel industry, with major players looking for a global presence and critical mass to help them withstand economic downturns.