Lakshmi Mittal has conceded defeat in an 18-month effort to win control of a prized German steelmaker although he has come out of the fight with a $1bn (£668.7m) pay-off.

The Indian chairman and main shareholder of ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, is expected to announce today that he is no longer pursuing an attempt to take a controlling stake in Dillinger Hütte, a leading maker of specialised steel plate used in products such as transcontinental energy pipelines.