If his scholarship course rather resilient yesterday 4The publication yesterday quarterly loss of 2Obviously there must be ways to draw a starEvian is 36 of its turnover in the hexagonIt's a guaranteed capital fund short termThey could rise to 265 billion S P saidToday large dials have spread in the areaan increase of 53 for the period 20092013For now nothing has filtered on its intentionsIn fact the studied technologies field is extensiveTwo years ago, he was almost unknown to the French and Thierry Breton, Minister of the economy of the time, wanted to teach the "grammar of the business world. Two years after the announcement of his hostile OPA on Arcelor, January 27, 2006, Lakshmi Mittal personifies the flight of the emerging countries. And it is equal that it should meet Nicolas Sarkozy today in India, then the week next to Paris, to discuss including the Gandrange folder.
By merging, the Indian Tycoon became the King of steel. His group is proving a real war machine, with 320,000 employees and hundreds of billions of dollars in sales. If it were a State, ArcelorMittal will be the 52nd in terms of GDP, just after the Ukraine; its annual budget would be the 28th in the world. Lakshmi Mittal, 5th World fortune according to "forbes", now part of the European gotha, as shown in his entry on the Board of Directors of EADS. "The future is Mittalic" (the future is Mittalic), provides the influential British "The Economist" magazine
The integration of the two companies has proved a success. First in financial terms: are huge synergies that it promised and ArcelorMittal action won 60 last year. Then, the clash of cultures between Arcelor and Mittal announced not occurred, while it is often a factor of failure of the merger. Finally, the merger has not locked the group. Last year, ArcelorMittal, on the contrary, announced 15 acquisitions for more than 12 billion and almost as many investments for more than 30 billion.
A true complementarity
Several factors explain this success. First, the economic environment and the complementarity between the two groups. Despite the US withdrawal, global steel production increased by 7.5 in 2007. With its global presence, stretching of the Americas to the Kazakhstan through Europe and Africa, ArcelorMittal is the main beneficiary. In this environment, the Group did not need massive restructuring as an Alcatel-Lucent, but to accompany this growth as effectively as possible.
"The worst fears does not have", conceded a former of Arcelor, which was rather skeptical. And if, through the departure of Roland Junck, Lakshmi Mittal has monopolized power in contrast to its initial promise, employees at least appreciate the clarity of things. As much that he took care to require the efforts, as well his company by Arcelor. "He acted in Integrator and not triumph, which has helped", said Michel Wurth, Member of the Directorate-General.
Significant residual potential
This attitude led to departures of managers on both sides, especially among Mittal with those responsible for Europe, Roeland Baan, or HRD Inder Walia. As the mixture of cultures, Arcelor has gained speed, force, proposal and sense of entrepreneurship while its acquirer grew in quality, production techniques and in the approach to client, according to Michel Wurth. "Mittal did not annex Arcelor, recognizes Xavier Le Coq, CFE - CGC trade union leader. It takes everything that is good in both companies and widespread everywhere, very quickly. "In short, the improbable Alchemy seems to have worked.
The Group was able to advance more quickly and multiply projects that he has impressive liquidity. A central element of management from Mittal. The cash flow reached $ 7 billion in the first nine months of 2007. "This gives the Group much flexibility for acquisitions," explains Elena Anankina, & Standard Poor's credit analyst.
And this is just the beginning. Even if some are questioning a possible reversal of the cycle, analysts are anticipating further synergies. As the group can generate more cash flow by reducing time of manufacturing, according to Patrick Antier, Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. "Even if it is the best on many criteria, ArcelorMittal is in a much less optimized than the automotive industry." There is a significant residual potential.
