Indian firm is Corus owner

India's Tata Steel landed the winning blow today in the auction of former British Steel company Corus.

Tata offered 608p a share, valuing Corus - which employs around 1,200 people across a dozen sites in the Black Country - at £5.75 billion.

The Indian firm was after going head to head with rival bidder CSN of Brazil in a late-night process run by the Takeover Panel.

The battle with CSN, which dates back to last year, added a third to the price offered by Tata when it unveiled its original deal with the Anglo-Dutch firm in October.

It is the largest ever overseas takeover by an Indian firm. The deal will create the world's fifth largest steel group, capable of producing 24 million tonnes a year.

CSN bowed out of the auction, which was settled in the early hours of this morning, after offering 603p a share. Before the start of the auction CSN had held the upper hand with the Corus board recommending its previous offer of 515p a share, or £4.9 billion.

Tata said there would be no immediate impact on jobs.