The Empire Strikes back!
February 8th 2007 14:05
The recent announcement of Tata Steel buying Corus, the erstwhile British Steel, has indeed made a lot of Indians very proud. There are several reasons for this. The deal cost the Tatas $12.1 billion and has propelled them from the fifty sixth to the fifth position in the steel industry!
This post might seem a bit biased and over the top…but what the hell!
“Do you mean to say that Tatas propose to make steel rails to British specifications? Why, I will undertake to eat every pound of steel rail they succeed in making”
- Sir Frederick Upcott (Chairman, Board of Indian Railways, in 1907 when Tatas proposed to make steel)
Upcott must have turned in his grave after the deal was announced! I’m sure if he were alive today he would be embarrassed about his statement, to say the least. The Tatas have just bought over one of the last few icons of Her Majesty’s Empire. Hence, for a country that was once a British colony for more than a hundred years, what can be better?
In recent times, many cash rich Indian companies have been on a buying spree, and have acquired smaller companies across the globe. This particular acquisition, which ended up being a three-month cliffhanger, between Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) and Tata Steel and is indeed a path breaker of sorts. The Tatas finally edged out CSN with a bid of 608 pence per share, this is 5 pence higher than that of CSN.
This acquisition is the biggest ever in the history of Indian business and it has now set the pace for probable future acquisitions by other Indian business houses. It is also one of the very few times a company has acquired another that is thrice its size. This move has catapulted Tata Steel into the Global Fortune 500 list, and is placed in 268th place, one spot lower that Coca Cola.
The Tata group has a tradition of being a trustworthy and pioneering entity. Their achievements only highlight the fact that in today’s world of ruthless and sometimes dishonest business, honesty and self-belief do succeed!
This post might seem a bit biased and over the top…but what the hell!
“Do you mean to say that Tatas propose to make steel rails to British specifications? Why, I will undertake to eat every pound of steel rail they succeed in making”
Upcott must have turned in his grave after the deal was announced! I’m sure if he were alive today he would be embarrassed about his statement, to say the least. The Tatas have just bought over one of the last few icons of Her Majesty’s Empire. Hence, for a country that was once a British colony for more than a hundred years, what can be better?
In recent times, many cash rich Indian companies have been on a buying spree, and have acquired smaller companies across the globe. This particular acquisition, which ended up being a three-month cliffhanger, between Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) and Tata Steel and is indeed a path breaker of sorts. The Tatas finally edged out CSN with a bid of 608 pence per share, this is 5 pence higher than that of CSN.
This acquisition is the biggest ever in the history of Indian business and it has now set the pace for probable future acquisitions by other Indian business houses. It is also one of the very few times a company has acquired another that is thrice its size. This move has catapulted Tata Steel into the Global Fortune 500 list, and is placed in 268th place, one spot lower that Coca Cola.
The Tata group has a tradition of being a trustworthy and pioneering entity. Their achievements only highlight the fact that in today’s world of ruthless and sometimes dishonest business, honesty and self-belief do succeed!
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