ArcelorMittal'sEssar bid delays planned JV with SAIL

ArcelorMittal's prolonged bid to buy debt-ridden Essar Steel is delaying the world's biggest steelmaker's joint venture with state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), India's steel minister and SAIL's chairman said. India's biggest state-owned steel company SAIL and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal-controlled ArcelorMittal signed a deal in May 2015 to set up a steel plant to produce automotive grade steel. However, no timetable has ever been set out. ArcelorMittal has been engaged in a drawn out attempt to acquire Essar Steel since 2017. Its 420 billion rupees ($5.9 billion) bid for the bankrupt Indian steelmaker has been mired in legal wrangling for months.