Dec. 28, 2006 — ThyssenKrupp AG has initiated legal action against Mittal Steel regarding the acquisition of Dofasco in accordance with the Letter of Agreement signed by Mittal Steel and ThyssenKrupp on January 26, 2006.

Dofasco is currently owned by a Netherlands-based foundation to which Arcelor transferred the Dofasco shares in its defense against Mittal Steel. On November 10, 2006, the foundation directors decided not to transfer the Dofasco shares back to Arcelor, even after the takeover situation had ended. The foundation’s action was a direct violation of corresponding requests from the boards of both Arcelor and Mittal Steel.

ThyssenKrupp, in initiating the legal action against Mittal Steel, is attempting to enforce its claim before the Letter of Agreement expires by securing the release of Dofasco from the foundation. The Group says its action is based on the legal expertise of a leading independent Netherlands-based foundation expert as well as advice from external legal experts. The aim of the action is to secure the release of Dofasco from the foundation and allow the sale to ThyssenKrupp.

ThyssenKrupp AG had announced during its annual press conference (Dec. 1, 2006) that it would exhaust every possibility to bring about the sale of Dofasco to ThyssenKrupp, as bindingly agreed by Mittal Steel.

With sales of 47.1 billion euros and 188,000 employees in over 70 countries, ThyssenKrupp is one of the world's major technology groups and occupies excellent positions on the international markets. The Group's three main business areas of steel, capital goods and services are organized in five segments—Steel, Stainless, Technologies, Elevator and Services.