Shares in Corus rose 13 percent in early trading on Thursday after Indian newspaper reports that Tata Steel Ltd. was in talks to buy the Anglo-Dutch steel maker for up to $10.6 billion.
Corus would not comment on the reports, which also boosted shares in other European steel companies such as Salzgitter AG and ThyssenKrupp AG .
The Times of India newspaper reported, "Even as Tata Steel had officially denied any takeover plans, there is mounting speculation that the Tatas are in talks to acquire a majority holding in the company (Corus) for anything between $8-$9 billion (4.2-4.8 billion pounds)."
The Business Standard newspaper valued the takeover bid at $10.6 billion (5.6 billion pounds) and said, again quoting unnamed sources, Tata Steel might offer about 580 pence per share to Corus shareholders.
It's only a short time since Corus was linked with Evraz, now it would appear that the Indian steel giant, could be looking to gain a foothold in Europe. If a takeover was to go ahead it would put the group well in to the "first division", as the fifth largest steel group in the world.
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