MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russian steelmaker Severstal said Friday it would do everything it could to attain leading positions in steel supplies.

The company issued a statement in the wake of a decision earlier Friday by shareholders of world No. 2 Arcelor to reject a merger with Severstal in favor of a bid from the world's No. 1 Mittal Steel.

"Severstal's leadership continues to believe in consolidation and will use every opportunity to extend its experience in order to achieve leading positions in supplies of high quality steel worldwide," the company said, adding that the "Severstal-Arcelor agreement ceased to be effective today."

Shareholders representing 57.94% of Arcelor's stock voted the Severstal bid down, following the board's recommendation to support what it saw as a better deal with Mittal.

The Severstal deal would have gone through if shareholders holding at least half of Arcelor's stock had voted for it. Now, the Luxembourg-based company will have to pay 140 million euros ($175 million) to the Russian company in compensation.

"[Severstal head] Alexei Mordashov is grateful for positive opinions of Severstal which he received from Arcelor's shareholders and stakeholders in the recent weeks," the statement said. "This experience has increased Severstal's reputation and position in the investment community."

The company also said it remained "a proactive player on the world's steel market."