Saturday, July 1 2006 11:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Hailing Union Minister Kamal Nath's crucial support during his takeover bid of Arcelor, India-born steel magnate L N Mittal yesterday (June 30, 2006) night said that he would like to partner in state-owned SAIL whenever the Government would decide to privatize the major PSU.

"I have always said openly that whenever the Indian Government would like to privatise SAIL, we would like to partner that", the billionaire tycoon told Times Now.

Mittal had created history recently with his company's improved takover offer being accepted by Arcelor SA in a mega deal that would create the world's largest steel entity. The deal had ended a five-month long battle between the industry giants.

In the interview to the TV channel, Mittal appreciated the "farsightedness" of Commerce Minister Kamal Nath for backing the deal.

"He (Nath) was not seeing this deal as Lakshmi Mittal versus Arcellor. He was seeing the whole thing in a much larger context of India," he said.

He said Nath saw it that if he was not supported it would 'completely block' the future of Indian businessman going abroad for some time.

"It was like a boxing match. There were many occasions when we felt that we lost on points. At least on one occasion I felt that in the tenth round I have been knocked out," he said recalling the tense moments during the bid period.

Mittal said that his company has committed to invest more than Rs 45,000 crore in India and we have said we are there in a long-term basis.