PARIS--French President Francois Hollande Tuesday said he
discussed with Indian-born billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, the chief
executive of ArcelorMittal (MT, MT.AE, MT.FR) "all options"
regarding the fate of a steel plant he owns, including a state
takeover of the plant.
In a statement sent after the one-hour meeting ended, Mr.
Hollande said he presented all the options possible to Mr. Mittal
and added he wanted the talks between government and company to
continue until Saturday, when a deadline to find a buyer for the
plant expires.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Hollande had told reporters the
possibility of nationalizing the steel plant would likely be part
of the discussion. He said he referred to the plant and not the
steel group.
The meeting was held as the row over the plan to shut two
furnaces and related machinery in the Florange steel complex in
eastern France has escalated following blunt comments from French
Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who said Mr. Mittal was not
welcome in France anymore. Mr. Montebourg said later he referred to
Mr. Mittal's methods.
Tension has been rising in recent months between the government
and ArcelorMittal over the fate of two blast furnaces and other
related facilities located in Florange which the company intends to
shut down. The firm has said it will definitely close the furnaces,
which have been idled for more than a year, on Saturday unless the
government finds a buyer.
The French government said it would be difficult to sell the
furnaces without ArcelorMittal's other Florange factory that turns
steel into products for the auto industry. But Mr. Mittal said he
wanted to keep the factory, feeding it with steel from other, more
productive furnaces.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@dowjones.com and Mimosa
Spencer at mimosa.spencer@dowjones.com
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