Tata Steel on Thursday said its UK subsidiary has picked up over 71.36 lakh (7.136 million) equity shares of London-based Corus Group Plc at 601.75 pence, less than the final bid price offered by the company for acquiring the Anglo-Dutch major.

Tata Steel UK, the acquisition vehicle for the Corus deal, has purchased the shares representing 0.8 per cent stake in Corus for an aggregate of �42.94 million ($84.38 million), the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Earlier this month, the company said it had acquired a 21.1 per cent stake in the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker for about �1.21 billion ($2.4 billion) at its final offer price of 608 pence a share.

With the above purchase, Tata Steel UK holds 21.9 per cent (207 million equity shares) stake in Corus Group Plc, the filing said.

After winning the nine-round auction for Corus, the company had said it intends to acquire shares in Corus in the market at a price of up to 608 pence in cash.

It had asked all the Corus Shareholders wishing to sell their shares to Tata Steel to contact the designated corporate brokers at ABN Amro Hoare Govett and Deutsche Bank.

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