LN Mittal - The king of steel
The story of how Mittal rose from relative obscurity to become a modern day Andrew Carnegie is relatively well known.
He was born in Sadulpur, Rajasthan. His father's business Ispat India has weathered many storms in the last decade.
At the tender age of 26 Lakshmi Mittal was despatched to Indonesia to oversee the family's mill now called Ispat Indo. Lakshmi Mittal parted ways with his father's in 1995.
In the late '80s, Mittal moved into acquisition mode and bought mills in places like Trinidad and followed that up in Canada.
The greatest coup was when he snapped up the loss-making Sibalsa Mill in Mexico for $220 million in 1992. The 20-year-old facility was originally built by the Mexican Government for around $2 billion.
Most steel industry analysts say the deal was extremely favourable and till recently the plant was the mainstay of the LNM empire.
His mills in Trinidad and Canada and Ispat Mexicana gave him a strong base in North America. In 1998 he consolidated his position in the continent by buying Inland Steel.
In the mid-'90s Mittal decided that he needed a more central base for his rapidly growing empire and shifted to London. There he set the tone that other Indian industrialists have watched enviously -- and some have tried to emulate. His neighbours in Bishop's Avenue, Hampstead include the Sultan of Brunei and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
And other Indian businessmen -- perhaps hoping that the Mittal effect would rub off on them -- have also taken up premises near the LNM office in Berkeley Square House, Mayfair.
Mittal has always insisted that he is on the lookout for buys anywhere in the world. But he seems to have followed a clear pattern.
In the early '90s he focused mainly on North America then he shifted focus to Western Europe and bought plants in Ireland, France and Germany.
These moves gave him a strong hold in the western European market for what are called long products.
His moves in eastern Europe could also pay off in a big way. By 2005 the Czech Republic and Poland will be part of the enlarged EU and by 2007 Romania will also join the fold.
That means the LNM Group will probably be producing around 15 million tonnes in the EU.
Says Mittal: "The major companies in eastern Europe are now privatised. The opportunities now lie in the enlargement of the EU into central and eastern Europe."
As it set out on the acquisition trail, the LNM Group hasn't been afraid to leverage itself.
At Ispat Karmet, for example, it took a $450 million package put together by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the IFC. Similarly, at Sidex it has taken a $100 million EBRD loan.
What next? Mittal once said that a modern steel company would be right-sized at around 20mt. He has now upped that to around 40mt and admits that he might double that once again.
But as the industry consolidates it looks certain that Lakshmi Mittal will be out there in front stoking up blast furnaces around the world.
He was born in Sadulpur, Rajasthan. His father's business Ispat India has weathered many storms in the last decade.
At the tender age of 26 Lakshmi Mittal was despatched to Indonesia to oversee the family's mill now called Ispat Indo. Lakshmi Mittal parted ways with his father's in 1995.
In the late '80s, Mittal moved into acquisition mode and bought mills in places like Trinidad and followed that up in Canada.
The greatest coup was when he snapped up the loss-making Sibalsa Mill in Mexico for $220 million in 1992. The 20-year-old facility was originally built by the Mexican Government for around $2 billion.
Most steel industry analysts say the deal was extremely favourable and till recently the plant was the mainstay of the LNM empire.
His mills in Trinidad and Canada and Ispat Mexicana gave him a strong base in North America. In 1998 he consolidated his position in the continent by buying Inland Steel.
In the mid-'90s Mittal decided that he needed a more central base for his rapidly growing empire and shifted to London. There he set the tone that other Indian industrialists have watched enviously -- and some have tried to emulate. His neighbours in Bishop's Avenue, Hampstead include the Sultan of Brunei and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
And other Indian businessmen -- perhaps hoping that the Mittal effect would rub off on them -- have also taken up premises near the LNM office in Berkeley Square House, Mayfair.
Mittal has always insisted that he is on the lookout for buys anywhere in the world. But he seems to have followed a clear pattern.
In the early '90s he focused mainly on North America then he shifted focus to Western Europe and bought plants in Ireland, France and Germany.
These moves gave him a strong hold in the western European market for what are called long products.
His moves in eastern Europe could also pay off in a big way. By 2005 the Czech Republic and Poland will be part of the enlarged EU and by 2007 Romania will also join the fold.
That means the LNM Group will probably be producing around 15 million tonnes in the EU.
Says Mittal: "The major companies in eastern Europe are now privatised. The opportunities now lie in the enlargement of the EU into central and eastern Europe."
As it set out on the acquisition trail, the LNM Group hasn't been afraid to leverage itself.
At Ispat Karmet, for example, it took a $450 million package put together by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the IFC. Similarly, at Sidex it has taken a $100 million EBRD loan.
What next? Mittal once said that a modern steel company would be right-sized at around 20mt. He has now upped that to around 40mt and admits that he might double that once again.
But as the industry consolidates it looks certain that Lakshmi Mittal will be out there in front stoking up blast furnaces around the world.
posted by sags at 5:37 AM
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