Herbies strikes gold for tata in corus bid

Indian conglomerate and Herbert Smith client Tata emerged triumphant in an eight-hour, £6.7bn auction for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus. The auction concluded a strung-out battle for Corus that pitched Tata against Brazilian miner Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), which was advised by Macfarlanes. Cravath Swaine & Moore also scored a role by advising CSN on the financing of its bid. Corus instructed Slaughter and May, with De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek advising on Dutch law aspects and Shearman & Sterling leading on US law and competition issues. The 608p-a-share cash offer that Tata tabled trumped CSN's 603p-a-share bid and exceeded expectations of what Corus could fetch. Tata originally bid 455p per share for Corus last October. Bidding continued to the ninth and final round in a highly unusual auction process - a tool used by the Takeover Panel to end protracted battles.