Mittal considers Rio acquisition: report

ArcelorMittal's major shareholder, Lakshmi Mittal, is reportedly considering entering the takeover battle for Rio Tinto Ltd to secure larger supplies of iron ore.

According to a Financial Times report, people familiar with the matter said Mr Mittal has considered some involvement with the takeover, including taking a stake in Rio through buying shares from existing shareholders.

The unnamed banker also said Mr Mittal could also wait until later when possibly some of Rio's iron ore assets go an sale as a result of demands by antitrust regulators.

The report said experts believe AcelorMittal could afford to takeover out a 9 per cent stake in Rio, the same size that was acquired earlier this year by Alcoa and the Aluminium Corporation of China, or Chinalco.

Rio is currently fending off a bid by rival BHP Billiton.

Yesterday ArcelorMittal increased its stake in Australian miner Macarthur Coal Ltd to 19.9 per cent by buying 10.6 million shares priced at $20 a piece from the Talbot Group. It brings AcelorMittal's investment in the Australian company to $A843 million.