Hedge funds are urging Lakshmi Mittal, who last week made an €18.6bn ($22.4bn) bid for rival Arcelor, to lend them shares in his company so they can profit from what they believe will be a successful takeover.

The Wall Street Journal reports that at least six funds, with billions of dollars under management, have sought shares in Mittal which they want to sell short in anticipation of the price falling when the bid succeeds in a complex strategy known as merger arbitrage.