British magazine The Business cited unnamed sources close to Corus as saying that Varin was unlikely to stay if CSN wins, while he would hold onto his position if Tata manages to acquire the company.

As per CSN's offer, Varin's contract expires after six months and can be renewed if both parties agree to extend it. Report said CSN chairman Benjamin Steinbruch, with his strong leadership style, may not bring Varin in as a deputy.

But if Tata Steel wins, Varin and Corus finance director David Lloyd are contracted to stay for a minimum of three years. After one year, Varin stands to be appointed deputy managing director of the merged group, the magazine said.

Market expectations for a fierce battle has pushed Corus' share price well above CSN's current offer of 515 pence, which values Corus at 4.9 billion pounds ($9.7 billion).

Shares are trading near 550 pence level for the last few days, valuing the company at about 5.2 billion pounds.

"Varin has won the respect of investors for his success in turning the loss-making company around, ending years of damaging infighting between the Dutch and English halves of the business, and implementing cost-cutting that returned the company to profit," the report said.

Tata Steel is mulling a London listing if it wins the Corus battle, it added. When Tata Tea acquired UK's Tetley Tea in 2000 in Tata group's first major international deal, it raised about $75 million worth Global Depository Receipts in London after the deal.

The Tata-Corus saga