Mittal Steel Co. NV announced on Tuesday that its merger with International Steel Group was approved by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting held in Rotterdam.

ISG shareholders — represented either in person or by proxy by holders of approximately 69.7% of ISG's common stock — also approved the merger at a special meeting held in New York City. Of the votes present at the meeting, approximately 99.6% were voted in favor of the proposed merger, representing approximately 69.4% of all shares entitled to vote on the proposal. Approximately 0.4% of the votes present at the meeting were voted against the merger, and the remainder abstained or were otherwise not voted.

Mittal Steel Co. is the world's most global steel company. Formed from the combination of Ispat International NV and LNM Holdings NV, the company has operations in fourteen countries, on four continents. Mittal Steel encompasses all aspects of modern steelmaking, to produce a comprehensive portfolio of both flat and long steel products to serve most of the major steel consuming sectors, including automotive, appliance, machinery and construction.

Mittal Steel's strategy is to enhance long-term shareholder value both by continuously strengthening its position as a low-cost, high quality steel producer and by continuing to play an integral role in a globally diverse steel industry. For 2004, Mittal Steel had revenues of US$22.2 billion and steel shipments of 42.1 million tons.

International Steel Group Inc. is one of the largest steel producers in North America. It ships a variety of steel products from 13 major steel producing and finishing facilities in eight states, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheets, tin mill products, carbon and alloy plates, rail products and semi-finished shapes to serve the automotive, construction, pipe and tube, appliance, container and machinery markets.