Belgian news in brief, 20 June 2006

Arcelor calls off buyback meeting

Mittal Steel appears to be gaining the upper hand in its takeover bid of rival Arcelor, which called off a meeting on Tuesday where shareholders were due to vote on a share buyback plan. The controversial buyback was part of the Arcelor’s efforts to fend off Mittal’s hostile takeover approach. Instead Arcelor wants a tie-up with Russian steel firm Severstal, but it had looked unlikely that Arcelor would get support for the buyback. Mittal is still locked in talks with Arcelor.

EC inquiry into Suez, GDF merger

The European Commission is to investigate the planned merger between French utilities Suez and Gaz de France (GDF). The EC has serious concerns about monopolist problems in both France and Belgium. The deadline for a go-ahead or a decision to investigate the planned deal was Monday. Suez owns Belgium’s Electrabel and GDF owns Belgian utility SPE.

Tourists miss out on Mannekin Pis

Tourists in Brussels city centre can be excused for being confused in recent days. Signs pointing tourists to famed locations were turned the wrong way by anonymous ‘jokers’. The signs were located at the entrance of the Amigo hotel near Grand Place. The hotel is located in a strategic place between Grand Place and the statue Mannekin Pis. Many tourists are said to have been pointed in the wrong direction.

Subject: Belgian news