Pension trustees of Corus Group have hired Penfida Partners to weigh the proposals placed by Tata Steel and CSN to acquire the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker.
The discussions with Penfida assume significance, as they will be one of the decisive factors in the bidding battle.
One of the main factors favouring Tatas was that the pension trustees had supported its offer.
Tata Steel had announced a $8.04 billion takeover bid for Corus. In addition to paying 455 pence for every Corus share, Tata Steel had offered to pay upfront the deficit on the Corus Engineering Steels Pension Scheme with $241.22 million and to increase the contribution rate on the British Steel Pension Scheme from 10 to 12 per cent until March 2009.
CSN said that it would match the commitments made by Tata Steel on pension, but had not spelt out details in its approach paper for Corus.
Corus has three pension schemes with about $19.3 billion of assets to cover payments for its 47,000-strong workforce and many more retired workers.
Penfida happens to be an advisory firm set up by former Lazard bankers to advise pension trustees in takeover situations.
Investment banking circles said CSN was yet to make a formal offer, despite having completed due diligence more than a week ago. The delay was likely to have held
up negotiations with the pension trustees. CSN had announced an indicative offer of 475 pence for every Corus share on November 17.
© 2025