Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is considering entering the takeover battle for Anglo-Australian iron ore producer Rio Tinto, say people familiar with his thinking, reports the FT. It also emerged at the weekend that Mittal, chairman, chief executive and the main shareholder in ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, has joined the board of Goldman Sachs, his adviser. Rio is the subject of a contested bid by BHP Billiton, currently worth about $160bn. Mittal has considered some involvement, possibly by acquiring a Rio stake from existing shareholders. ArcelorMittal also said Sunday it had paid A$212m ($204m) to raise its stake in Australia’s Macarthur Coal from 14.9% to 19.9%, after ending talks with the pulverised-coal producer last week. On Monday, Reuters reported that Posco, the Korean steelmaker, will buy a 10% stake in Macarthur from key shareholder Ken Talbot at A$20 a share.
