Mittal Steel, seeking to win back eroding investor support for its bid for Arcelor, raised its offer by a third and dropped a key demand for family control over the combined global steel giant.

In a surprise move just a day after the hostile bid was formally launched, Mittal boosted its total value by 6 billion euros to above 24 billion euros ($30.7 billion).
Following the new Mittal announcement, Arcelor said it is willing to study the improved takeover offer and business plan to create a global steel giant, opening the door to possible talks with its suitor.
“The board of directors will examine the contents of Mittal Steel’s revised offer as soon as it shall have been approved by the CSSF (Luxembourg’s financial regulator),” Arcelor chairman Joseph Kinsch said.
Earlier, the Luxembourg-based Arcelor, the world’s No.2 steelmaker, had firmly rejected the advances by global sector leader Mittal. Mittal, 87 per cent owned by the family of Lakshmi Mittal, is aiming to create a producer of 100 million tonnes of steel per year — more than three times the size of its closest rival — by combining the largest and second largest companies in the fragmented steel industry.
But its ambitions have been fiercely resisted by Arcelor and have sparked a political storm, with some European politicians fearing job losses.
 French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said the government  still awaited answers from Mittal on questions about its pledges, while Luxembourg, which has a 5.6 per cent stake, added it still needed to see the bidder’s industrial plan.
Belgium’s Walloon region, owner of a 2.3 per cent stake, said its decision on whether to sell would depend on jobs and investment plans and not the financial terms of the offer.
Media reports have said Arcelor was seeking a white knight to rescue it from its unwanted suitor. Possible candidates have included Russian tycoon Vladimir Lisin and Russia’s Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works.