November 26, 2006	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 4, 1427

NEW DELHI, Nov 25: India’s Tata Steel would not comment on Saturday on whether it was staying in the race for Corus Group after investors allied to Brazilian steelmaker CSN were reported to have scaled up their combined stake in the Anglo-Dutch company to more than 15 per cent.

“We have nothing to say right now,” a senior Tata official said.

CSN, or Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, announced on November 11 that it had made an informal offer to Corus, setting the stage for a bidding war and throwing Tata Steel’s agreed takeover into jeopardy.

CSN’s offer of 475 pence per share for Corus trumped by more than four per cent Tata's bid of 455 pence and valued the firm at 5.3 billion pounds.

On Friday, Tata Steel dismissed a report it had decided to match the bid by CSN for Corus Group plc, Europe's second-largest steelmaker.

“Tata Steel has not taken any decision in the manner speculated in the media at its scheduled board meeting held on Thursday,” the company told the Mumbai stock exchange in a statement.

India’s Economic Times quoted unnamed sources as saying Tata Steel was “inclined to approach its bankers -- ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered -- for more funds once its Brazilian rival makes a formal bid”.—AFP