[ppi] [ppiindia] Russian billionaire's 'heart' made of steel

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060527.websteel27/BNStory/Business/home

Russian billionaire's 'heart' made of steel
PAUL WALDIE 

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Alexei Mordashov is not your typical Russian billionaire. The 40-year-old 
speaks three languages, earned an MBA in Britain, lived in Austria for years 
and sits on the boards of several European companies including Deutsche Bank. 

Yesterday he became the steel industry's biggest player. Through a series of 
moves involving his Russian company, OAO Severstal Group, and Luxembourg's 
Arcelor SA, the two companies have joined forces to become the world's largest 
steel producer. Arcelor's holdings span the globe and include Canada's Dofasco 
Inc. 

Once the deal closes, Mr. Mordashov will own 32.2 per cent of Arcelor and 
co-head the company's board of directors. He will also appoint six of 18 
directors and help find a successor to Arcelor's current chief executive 
officer, which could well be himself.

"I believe in this industry," Mr. Mordashov told reporters yesterday in perfect 
English. "My heart is in the steel business."

Mr. Mordashov played down his wealth, estimated to be nearly $8-billion, and 
his impeccable connections (he reportedly met recently with Russian President 
Vladimir Putin to discuss the Arcelor deal). He joked that his success was 
largely the result of timing, being a young manager in a Russian steel plant 
just as the country lurched its way toward privatization a decade ago. "When 
you turn a caravan of camels around, the last one becomes first," he joked.

Mr. Mordashov has been involved in the steel industry for most of his life. The 
son of an engineer at the Severstal mill in Cherepovets, about 500 kilometres 
northeast of Moscow, he joined the company at the age of 21 as an accountant. 
The mill was a classic Soviet-style operation, built on the orders of Joseph 
Stalin after the Second World War. 

Mr. Mordashov quickly rose through the ranks and became chief financial officer 
in 1992, just as economic turmoil gripped the country. Russia's rush toward 
privatization in the 1990s left Severstal in the hands of local managers and 
employees. Within four years Mr. Mordashov took control, putting himself in 
charge and eventually owning nearly 90 per cent of the company.

He modernized the operations and acquired steel companies abroad, including 
Lucchini SpA of Italy and Rouge Industries Inc. of Dearborn, Mich., the 
seventh-largest American steel producer. Since 2003, Severstal's profit has 
more than doubled to $1.3-billion last year on $8-billion in sales. 

Severstal has worked on a variety of joint ventures with Arcelor and the two 
companies have talked about a possible merger. Arcelor's chairman, Joseph 
Kinsch, said yesterday that the talks became more intense recently after bitter 
rival Mittal Steel Co. NV launched a hostile takeover bid, which currently 
stands at ?25.8-billion ($36.3-billion), "Mittal's offer was a catalyst to see 
how we could find our agreement," Mr. Kinsch said. 

Mittal officials scoffed at the Arcelor-Severstal tie-up yesterday, calling it 
a "second-class combination." Mittal spokesman Paul Weigh warned that Mr. 
Mordashov could quickly have a large say in how Arcelor is run. "Effectively he 
can do whatever he wants with the company," he said.

Mr. Mordashov promised to vote along with other board members on the Mittal 
proposal and he has a stand-still agreement that prevents him from acquiring 
any more Arcelor shares for four years. Yesterday he also addressed any 
discomfort investors might have about getting close to a Russian. "Come to 
Russia and see," he said. "It's very different from the Soviet Union."

Arcelor shareholders are slated to vote on the Severstal deal next month, just 
as a sweetened offer by Mittal is expected to be finalized. 

In Canada, Arcelor made one other move yesterday. Dofasco said Don Pether will 
retire as CEO in July and be replaced by long-time Arcelor executive Jacques 
Chabanier. Mr. Pether has been at Dofasco for 36 years, the last three as CEO. 
He will become Dofasco's chairman. 

Steel giants

Market share: 6 per cent of global steel output

Employees: 124,000 

Revenue: ?40.6-billion ($57.2-billion)

Controlling shareholder: Severstal chairman and founder Alexei Mordashov, with 
32 per cent

"We very heavily underestimate the steel industry. We are probably at the 
beginning of a new cycle of the world economy, with the development of China 
and India and Brazil and Russia."

SEVERSTAL FOUNDER ALEXEI MORDASHOV, SEEN HERE, LEFT, WITH ARCELOR CHAIRMAN 
JOSEPH KINSCH AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GUY DOLLE AT THE START OF YESTERDAY'S 
NEWS CONFERENCE IN LUXEMBOURG



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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