PARIS, Jan. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The world's second-biggest steel company Arcelor's CEO Guy Dolle said here on Monday that his company is not conducting any talks with Japan's Nippon Steel about playing a "white knight" role against the bid launched by Mittal.

    Dolle said however at a news conference that he would meet the head of Nippon Steel on Thursday for routine quarterly talks after insisting earlier that Arcelor was not in any talks with Nippon Steel about mounting a white knight defense against Mittal's 18.6-billion-euro (about 22.5 billion dollars) hostile take over bid for Arcelor.

    He did not comment on the question whether Arcelor and Nippon Steel could form an alliance on the model of Renault and Nissan, while saying "Rennault-Nissan is a success".

    Nippon Steel is the world's third largest steel company, while Mittal Steel Company, the No. 1, announced Friday a hostile take over bid for Arcelor. Enditem