Jim Leng Chairman, Corus Steel plc

I. Background
Ratan, thank you very much indeed. Ladies and gentlemen, I thought I’d preface what I’m going to say with just a little bit of background as to how and over what period of time we arrived at this point in time. I’ll start by saying my Board, last year, reviewed the strategy for Corus and, in July of last year, agreed a strategic framework and direction. Even though the Restoring Success programme, which Philippe Varin and his team had launched, was only half completed, it was vital that we look beyond this.
II. The Need for A Strategic Partner
The headlines of this strategy were that our exclusive presence in western Europe, within a global and consolidating industry, was unsustainable in the medium-to-long term. We identified the need to have a strategic partner and a presence in a lower-cost country with a growing economy and raw material availability and where we could use and fully exploit our technology. As to where, we had an initial focus on Brazil, on Russia and, of course, on India. Our subsequent travels and discussions in the past year were diligent and comprehensive. I won’t go into the specifics with whom we had discussions, but today’s announcement is the result of this activity, and we’re delighted and, indeed, honoured to be associated with Tata.
III. India – A Favoured Location
India, with its strong and growing economy, indigenous raw materials, rising consumer demand and infrastructure needs, plus the country’s long relationship with the UK, was always a favoured location. Philippe and I travelled to India to meet Ratan Tata and his team in November of 2005. Over the next several months, we had several meetings, and our respective teams examined various business options, from JV (joint venture) to new plants and technology transfer. It became increasingly clear that the best long-term solution could only be realised through a complete merger of our two businesses, the result of which is today’s announcement, which carries the unanimous recommendation of my Board. This will be a unique global partnership.


GAURAV JAIN
PGDM Ist sem