Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steel manufacturer, has accepted a £4.3bn offer from Indian firm Tata Steel in what will be the largest ever foreign takeover by an Indian company.
The offer, which represents 455p-per-share, includes a commitment by Tata to pay £126m into the Corus pension fund, which has total liabilities of £9bn.
The takeover is due to be completed in January, and will create the fifth-largest steel producer in the world. It will also mean that five of the top six producers in the steel industry are Asian-owned companies.
Analysts have not ruled out the possibility of a takeover war, and have named rival producers Novolipetsk and Severstal of Russia and Brazillian firm Cia Siderurgica as potential counter-bidders.
Corus was formed in 1999 when British Steel merged with Dutch company Koninklijke Hoogovens. It now has 47,300 employees worldwide, 24,000 of whom are in the UK. Corus chief executive Philippe Varin has confirmed that there will be no job cuts in the short term, but would not comment on long term plans.
