Corus may have emerged as the steel industry's most sought after belle, with Tata Steel and CSN vying to be its knight in shining armour -- but there were as many as 75 other companies who were courted by two or more suitors this year alone.
While the high-profile bidding war between the Indian and Brazilian steel makers for the Anglo-Dutch company is unprecedented in this part of the world, it is not a rarity in the global M&A arena -- at least in the recent past.
As many as 76 companies worldwide have received competing bids so far in 2006, totalling $507.7 billion via 149 deals, which marks a sharp jump of 47 per cent compared to previous year, data compiled by global financial information provider