Ratan Tata's opening Speech

Today marks the end of a journey that commenced quite sometime ago and I
think when it started Tata Steel saw a strategic fit with Corus in the UK and
Netherlands, which would give it a global reach in Europe; synergies with low
cost intermediates in India and when we made our first bid to acquire the
company, many thought it was an audacious move because an Indian company
making a bid for a European steel company much larger in tonnage size which is
something that had not happened before.
Source: Transcript of Press Conference for CORUS Acquisition, 31st January 2007
Tata Steel and the Indian Steel Industry:
Tata Steel was established by Indian Parsi Businessman Jamsetji Tata in 1907,
exactly in the year when British American Tobacco (BAT) has started its first factory
in India. Butit started operating in the year 1912. Tata Steel holds a very vital place in
Indian business history, because it has introduced some of the unique concepts like
8-hour working days, leave with pay and pension system for the first time in India
and the first player to start rapid industrialization process. In the later part, the
concepts invented and implemented by the Tatas became law and compulsory
practice for the Indian employees. From Tata Steel, Tata has started investing in
various other businesses like; Oil mills, Airlines, Publishing, Motors, Consultancy
services etc in a short span of 30 years. In the year 1945, Tata entered into tea
business by the name of Tata Tea, which was called as Tata Finlay earlier. Tata also
entered into exports as Tata Exports, which is the most successful and the largest
export house in India. During the entire business in India, Tata has been into a
variety of business and of late it has been investing heavily in its steel business. It
has performed well in the Indian market during its 100 years of operation In India.
Tata Steel is Asias first and Indias largest integrated private sector steel company
with 2005/06 revenues of US$ 5 billion and crude steel production of 5.3 million
tonnes across India and South-East Asia. It is a vertically integrated manufacturer
and is one of the worlds most profitable and value creating steel companies. In
2005, Tata Steel acquired 100% equity interest in NatSteel Asia in Singapore and in

2006 acquired majority control of Millennium Steel in Thailand, now Tata Steel
Thailand.
The Indian Steel industry is regarded as the most important component for the
development of nation, because steel industry (heavy industry) is considered as a
very important and influential parameter for the development of any modern
economy. The finished steel production in India has grown from 1.1 million tones in
1951 to 31.63 million tones in 2001-02, which can be regarded as a remarkable
example of Indias development in economic activities. Along with the Steel Authority
of India that had multi-plant operations, Tata Steel played a vital role in the
improvement of steel production in the country. The consumption level of steel from
1990 to 2002 has increased continuously and good production capacities of
domestic steel producer have made this possible. However, the per capita income
and consumption of steel in India is much lesser than compared to other countries.
Indias major market for steel and steel items include USA, Canada, Indonesia, Italy,
West Asia, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka and Belgium. The major steel
items of export include HR coils, plates, CR and galvanized products, pipes,
stainless
steel, wire rods and wires. With the fall in prices along with depressed domestic
demand, India has been increasing exports to overcome the excess supply situation.
This has resulted in antidumping actions being taken by developed countries like
USA, EU and Canada. The trade action by some countries against Indian steel
industry has, to some extent, affected Indias exports to these countries. The
Government of India and the Indian steel producers are trying to combat such
actions despite such efforts being very expensive and involving time-consuming
procedures.
Global Steel Industry:
In global steel industry the consumption of steel has been decreased drastically in
2007,in comparison to 2006. According to International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI)
till 2010the average demand for steel would be 4.9 per cent per year. But during
2010 and 2015the growth is expected to be 4.2 per cent. In fact, IISI forecasts the
global steel demand would be 1.32 billion tones by 2010 and 1.62 billion tones by

2015. Much of this demand growth is expected to be generated from countries like
China and India. Among the major steel producing countries the production of steel
has increased from 2005-2006 except Brazil. China is the highest steel producing
country in the world with a production of355.8 million tones in 2005 and 418.8 million
tones in 2006.
Recent reports of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
and other organizations have recorded the fact that nowadays Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) is more likely to flow in through cross border mergers (and not
through Greenfield Projects). The comparative cost of steel production is also
favorable to developing countries especially India.
For 2007, S&P Steel India projects that GDP will grow by 2.4%, versus the GDP
growth of 3.3% in 2006. Through April 2007, motor vehicle sales fell by 3.0% while
motor vehicle production declined by 5.5%. Where as, in 2006, motor vehicle sales
fell by 2.6%, while production was down by 2.8%. As predicted, lower sales for all of
2007 will lead to reduced demand from this key end market for steel. Presumably,
car manufacturers will be working to reduce unsold car inventory and will be cutting
production, which will reduce demand for steel. According to the numerical data,
through May 2007, the S&P Steel Index increased by 35.1%, compared to that of
6.6% increase for the S&P 1500 Index and by 14.9% rise in the S&P Materials Index.
In 2006, the S&P Steel Index increased by 58.2%, versus a 13.3% increase for the S
& P 1500 index and a 16.6% increase in the S&P Materials Index. In the long term,
there is a strong possibility for the industry to benefit from greater pricing power
resulting from further expected consolidation, a lower cost structure, and a
continuation of the cyclical decline of the U.S. dollar. Refer Exhibit8 for details
about the production of steel by different countries of the world.
Corus and Steel Production in the U.K.:
Corus Group plc was formed on 6th October 1999, through the merger of two
companies, British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens, following the privatization of
many steelworks companies by the U.K. government. The company consists of four
divisions which include: Strip Products, Long Products, Aluminum and Distribution
and Building Systems. With headquarters in London, Corus operates as an
international company, satisfying the demand of many steel customers worldwide. Its

core business comprises of manufacturing, development and allocation of steel and

aluminum products and services.
The company has a wide variety of products and services which comprise of the
manufacturing of electrical steel, narrow strip, plates, packaging steel, plated steel
strip, semi finished steel, tube products, wire rod and rail products and services.
However, the company is also engaged in providing a variety of services including
design, technology and consultancy services. Corus is Europes second largest steel
producer with revenues in 2005 of 9.2 billion (US$18 billion and crude steel
production of 18.2 million tonnes, primarily in the UK and the Netherlands. Corus had
about 42,600 employees in over 40 countries and sales offices and service centres
worldwide. The number of employees in UK has been about 23,600; in Germany
about 2,600; in Netherlands about 11,400 and in other countries about 5000.
Combining international expertise with local customer service, the Corus brand
represents quality and strength. Corus products and services are acquired by
customers from diverse fields such as commercial and military aerospace ventures,
the automotive, construction, engineering, defense and security, as well as the rail
and shipbuilding industry. In order to sustain and run its global steelmaking,
processing and distribution operations the company makes annual investments of
over 6 million for the purchase of various goods and services, such as iron ore and
coal, alloys, refractory, rolls and paint. The financial status of the company from
1996-2005 some amount of variations in the performance of the company.
Refer Exhibit9 & 10 for the details of financial performance of the company across
the years. The company also had huge amount of short term and long term debts.
The total debt burden in the year 2006, prior to the acquisition was about 2433
million GBP. Refer Exhibit 11 for the details. But irrespective of all these factors,
Corus has continued to grow through a number of acquisitions during 2000-2006.
Refer Exhibit 12 for details

SWOT Analysis Of Tata Steel

Strengths
Strong market position

Integrated steel operations in India

Strong research and development (R&D)
capabilities
Weakness
Dependence on third party suppliers for raw
material in Europe
Dependence on Europe
Opportunities
Expansion in India
Joint ventures to develop mining activities
Anticipated demand for steel in India
Threats
Consolidation in the global steel industry
Environmental regulations

Acquisition
An acquisition is a corporate action in which a company buys most, if not all, of the
target company's ownership stakes in order to assume control of the target firm.
Acquisitions are often made as part of a company's growth strategy whereby it is
more beneficial to take over an existing firm's operations and niche compared to
expanding on its own. Acquisitions are often paid in cash, the acquiring company's
stock or a combination of both.

The advantages of a Business Acquisition

Speed :It provide ability to speedily acquire resources and competencies not
held in house.It allows entry into new products and new markets.Risks and
costs of new product development decrease.

Market power :It builds market presence.Market share increases.Competition

decrease.Excessive

competition

can

be

avoided

by

shut

down

of

capacity.Diversification is aggrieved.Synergistic benefits are gained.

Overcome entry barrier :It overcomes market entry barrier by acquiring an

existing organization.The risk of competitive reaction decrease.

Financial gain :Organization with low share value or low price earning ratio
can be acquired to take short term gains through assets stripping.

Resources and competencies :Acquisition of resources and competencies not

available in house can be a motive for merger and acquisition.

Stakeholder

expectations

:Stakeholder

may

expect

growth

through

acquisitions.

Obtaining quality staff or additional skills, knowledge of your industry or sector

and other business intelligence. For instance, a business with good
management and process systems will be useful to a buyer who wants to
improve their own. Ideally, the business you choose should have systems that
complement your own and that will adapt to running a larger business.

Accessing funds or valuable assets for new development. Better production or

distribution facilities are often less expensive to buy than to build. Look for
target businesses that are only marginally profitable and have large unused
capacity which can be bought at a small premium to net asset value.

Your business underperforming. For example, if you are struggling with

regional or national growth it may well be less expensive to buy an existing
business than to expand internally.

Accessing a wider customer base and increasing your market share. Your
target business may have distribution channels and systems you can use for
your own offers.

Diversification of the products, services and long-term prospects of your

business. A target business may be able to offer you products or services
which you can sell through your own distribution channels.

Reducing your costs and overheads through shared marketing budgets,

increased purchasing power and lower costs.

Reducing competition. Buying up new intellectual property, products or

services may be cheaper than developing these yourself.

Organic growth, ie the existing business plan for growth, needs to be

accelerated. Businesses in the same sector or location can combine
resources to reduce costs, eliminate duplicated facilities or departments and
increase revenue.

The Disadvantages of a Business Acquisition

Culture Clashes
Even a company has a personality, a culture that permeates the entire organization.
If you acquire a company that has a way of doing things that conflicts with yours, the
employees of the acquired company may bristle at your management style.
Conversely, your employees may not accept managers and supervisors from the
acquired company. You can try to keep the two companies completely separate, but
in such a case the two organizations will have to communicate, so the culture clash
can still cause problems. For example, if your culture is based on the idea of meeting
deadlines and the acquired company has a more relaxed view of delivering work or
products on time, you may find yourself disciplining the management of the acquired
company.
Redundancy

When you acquire a company, you may have employees who duplicate each other's
functions. This can cause excessive payroll expenditures where you pay for two
employees to do the work of one. That can reduce motivation among employees. If
you get rid of excess employees, you may cause resentment among the workforce.
The decreased morale can reduce productivity. For example, laying off excess
production staff may cause remaining production personnel to fear they will lose their
jobs. The resulting stress may distract them from the work at hand.
Conflicting Objectives
The acquired company may have different objectives than yours. In fact, this is likely,
because the two companies have been operating independently up until the
acquisition. For example, your original company may embrace the objective of
expanding in to new markets, while the acquired company may be in pullback mode,
with the objective of reducing costs. The resistance you meet as you try to spend on
marketing initiatives can undermine your efforts.
Increased Debt
If you borrow money to acquire a company, that debt goes on the books of the
original company. In order to service that debt, you need revenues from the acquired
company. Since many companies become the target of acquisitions because they
are struggling financially, you may find that the financial problems of the acquired
company prevent you from generating the income you need to pay the new debt. In
addition, acquired companies tend to have their own debt, which you assume when
you buy them. The growing debt may outpace new revenues.
Market Saturation
If you acquire a company that is in the same line of business as your original
company, your hopes for market expansion may hit a barrier: the two companies
together already dominate the market. You may find it difficult to grow sales after the
acquisition because not enough new customers exist outside of the customer base
you and the acquired company have established.