Arcelor and Mittal Steel Boards Decide Not to Sue Stichting Over Dofasco
Rotterdam/Luxembourg, January 10, 2007 – Arcelor Mittal announced today that the respective Boards of Directors
of Mittal Steel Company NV and Arcelor S.A. have decided not to initiate litigation seeking to dissolve the Strategic
Steel Stichting, an independent Dutch foundation, with a view to obtaining the transfer to Arcelor of the 89% of the
shares of Dofasco Inc., the North American steelmaker, currently held by the Stichting. Arcelor Mittal indicated that
the Boards of Directors reached this decision based on opinions from legal experts that the prospects for success of
any such litigation against the Stichting are remote.
Under a Letter Agreement, dated January 26, 2006, with ThyssenKrupp AG, Mittal Steel agreed to cause Arcelor to
sell Dofasco to ThyssenKrupp if Mittal Steel is able to “assert effective management control over Arcelor with the
ability to sell Dofasco.” In addition, under a Consent Decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, which was filed with
the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on August 1, 2006 in order to resolve certain U.S. competition concerns,
Mittal Steel agreed to use its best efforts to sell Dofasco to ThyssenKrupp or, if Dofasco cannot be sold due to the
Stichting, to sell certain alternative assets. The Stichting’s holding of the Dofasco shares currently prevents their sale
without the Stichting’s consent.
By resolutions adopted respectively on September 25 and on October 11, 2006 the Boards of Directors of Mittal Steel
and Arcelor formally requested that the Stichting dissolve and return the Dofasco shares to Arcelor. On November 10,
2006 the Stichting’s board of directors unanimously decided not to dissolve and to retain the Dofasco shares, thereby
continuing to prevent their sale.
On December 22, 2006, ThyssenKrupp initiated summary legal proceedings against Mittal Steel in the District Court
in Rotterdam alleging that Mittal Steel has breached