Court rules against Corus sell-off
STEELMAKER Corus has lost a court battle to push ahead with its £543m aluminium sell-off, raising fears of fresh British job cuts and triggering a collapse in the shares.
A commercial court in Amsterdam ruled that the group's Dutch supervisory board could block the sale. Corus has been forced to hand Pechiney, the French group set to buy the aluminium business, a e20m (£13.6m) break fee.
'As no appeal procedure is available that could resolve the issue in time for the sale to proceed, Corus accepts the court's decision as final,' Corus said.
The shares dived more than one third to just 4p, where Corus is valued at £548m.
Corus needs the cash to cut its £1.2bn debt. But the Dutch board - which controls the aluminium operation - will not allow the deal to go ahead if the money is used to prop up loss-making UK steel mills, which employ 10,000. Chief executive Tony Pedder and chairman Sir Brian Moffat could also be in the firing line.
The Dutch board has called a news conference. Reports earlier said the Dutch wing was considering reversing the merger that created the group in 1999.
