Arcelor pulls out of race for Polskie Huty Stali steel group

Only two companies, Britain's LNM and U.S. Steel, will bid for steel group Polskie Huty Stali (PHS) as, in an eleventh-hour move, Luxembourg-based Arcelor withdrew from the race yesterday. The Ministry now has until May 5 to assess the offers and says that if there are any questions it will discuss them with the investors before May 12 and then give exclusive rights for further negotiations to only one bidder. However, should both offers be considered equally viable, both companies would be invited to further negotiations with the Treasury. The purchase of loss-making PHS would allow LNM to double its regional capacity, which is now roughly seven million tonnes while Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, the largest steel firm in the United States, said that if its bid were successful it planned to implement U.S. Steel management practices as well as embark on new capital investments. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 4-5, Reuters) J.K.