UPDATE 1-Venezuela says aims for 'win-win' in steel takeover

Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:43pm EDT
 
Email | Print | | Reprints | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

(Updates with meeting ends, Congress move)

CARACAS, April 29 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday he wants a "win-win" takeover deal with Argentine steelmaker Ternium, just days after threatening to expropriate the company's local unit.

His vice president and other top officials met with a delegation from Ternium (TX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to discuss the price the government will pay for the company's Venezuelan steel plant, Sidor, which Chavez has vowed to nationalize.

The meeting ended with an agreement to continue talks on the takeover next week, according to a company official who asked not to be named as negotiations over Venezuela's biggest steel producer were meant to be private.

That eased some pressure on Ternium.

At the weekend, Chavez had said Ternium was "crazy" for claiming its holdings in the Venezuelan plant are worth $4 billion and threatened to expropriate the property this week if the two sides did not quickly strike a deal.

"We are looking for agreement, a win-win consensus," Chavez said during a televised cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Chavez has nationalized large swathes of the economy in the South American oil nation and has typically paid a fair price for property taken over by the government.

The government has offered $800 million, minus outstanding debts that are expected to exceed $200 million.  Continued...

 

Featured Broker sponsored link

Editor's Choice

Photo

A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours.  View Slideshow 

Most Popular on Reuters

Photo
Bearing Witness
Reuters award-winning multimedia piece, reflecting five years of reporting the war in Iraq.