As the dust settled on the first week of what could be a lengthy takeover battle for Arcelor following Mittal Steel's €18.6bn ($22.3bn) bid eight days ago, observers were trying to work out which side had got the better of each other in the hectic early phase of the tussle.

As global steel chiefs met at a summit in a Paris hotel, few onlookers were taking bets either way. But most agree that a likely option in the coming weeks is that Netherlands-based Mittal Steel will sweeten its cash-and-shares offer. That could happen either through Mittal increasing the total offer from the current €28.21-a-share bid, or changing the mix from the current 3:1 split between shares and cash to provide more money on the table.