Russian steel companies are likely to join forces in the pursuit of overseas assets, the owner of Evraz Group, Russia's largest steel maker by volume, said on May 26.
Alexander Abramov told Reuters a deal unveiled on Friday between Severstal and Arcelor to create the world's largest steel maker would speed up efforts by other Russian companies to expand and compete overseas.
"I believe the deal will accelerate the consolidation process in the sector," Abramov said in a telephone interview. "Russian companies will probably be consolidated with other Russian companies. But at the same time, they will continue acquiring foreign assets," he said.
Arcelor, fighting a take-over bid by larger rival Mittal Steel, plans to buy Severstal in a 13 billion euro ($16.6 billion) deal that would give the Russian company's owner, Alexei Mordashov, a 32 percent stake in the European steel giant. Rivalry between Russian steel barons has been an obstacle to sector consolidation in the past, while their deep pockets have protected Russian assets from take-over.
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