With the steel industry shrouded in gloom, Lakshmi Mittal is starting to consider options for what he might need to do to raise cash should “doomsday” scenarios for the sector turn to reality.
Should the slide in market conditions continue, the chairman and controlling shareholder in ArcelorMittal might need to raise several billion pounds by the end of the year to shore up the company's balance sheet and reduce the risks of a breach in banking covenants.
ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, said yesterday that it had no need to raise cash now and that it had a “successful debt-reduction programme in place” that was on course to bring down net debt of $26.5bn at the end of December by $4bn by the end of 2009.