L.N. Mittal

LONDON: Lakshmi Mittal –– the 54-year old metal man and billionaire takeover tycoon whose steel empire stretches from Kazakhstan to Trinidad –– has been named Europe’s ‘Businessman of the Year’ by Fortune magazine.

“Mittal is sitting on top of the steel world,” says the magazine. “Mittal Steel is also the world’s most geographically diverse steel giant, stretching from Central Asia through Africa and Europe to Central and North America.”

According to Fortune, the immediate issue for the London-based dealmaker is a $4.5-billion takeover of International Steel Group (ISG), a U.S.-based company that had been controlled by investor Wilbur Ross. This, the magazine adds, will make Mittal Steel –– “the company created by the deal” –– the world’s largest producer of the commodity. “This is a major step for the global consolidation of the steel industry,” Fortune quoted Mittal as saying.