Mittal Steel, already the world’s largest steelmaker, launched a hostile takeover bid worth $22.8 billion to buy the second largest steelmaker, Arcelor SA, in a move that stunned analysts and industry insiders — and one that would create a behemoth steel producer.

“I think it was an absolutely brilliant move, and totally unexpected,” said Charles Bradford, a New York-based steel analyst. “Frankly, I didn’t think anyone in the industry was smart enough to do this.”

If the deal is approved, Mark Reutter, author of “Making Steel: Sparrows Point and the Rise and Ruin of American Industrial Might,” predicted that Chief Executive and Chairman Lakshmi Mittal would continue to place his focus on steel mills in Third World countries and not do any improvement projects in the company’s Northwest Indiana mills.

“His strategy has been very clear,’’ Reutter said. “Mittal’s whole strategy is to shift to Third World countries, and it’s because of labor costs.”

Mittal’s cash and stock bid for Luxembourg-based Arcelor includes a 27 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on Thursday.

It would be the largest deal in the history of steelmaking.

It would give the combined company the ability to produce more than 100 million tons a year — about 10 percent of the world’s output and more than three times the capacity of Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp.

“This is not about creating a giant,” Mittal said at a news conference in London on Friday. “It’s about creating the sustainability of the steel industry.”

Mittal has been a leader in consolidation for years, buying the former Indiana Harbor plant in the late 1990s and most recently buying the former International Steel Group for $4.5 billion from financier Wilbur Ross.

ISG had mills in Burns Harbor and the Indiana Harbor. Analysts point out, however, that this deal is not finalized yet because it all depends on how Arcelor stockholders respond.

Mittal Steel also announced Friday that it reached a deal with ThyssenKrupp AG in which Mittal would resell Dofasco to ThyssenKrupp. Arcelor and ThyssenKrupp had a bidding war for Dofasco, which Arcelor just won this week.

Under Mittal’s proposal, ThyssenKrupp would ultimately own Dofasco.

Mittal said this merger is another step toward the necessary consolidation needed in the industry. The combined group would have about 320,000 employees worldwide, and annual sales of more than $69 billion.

Mittal also believes it can achieve $1 billion in operating synergies.

United Steelworkers Local 1010 President Tom Hargrove said he was stunned by the announcement.

“It’s unbelievable,’’ he said. “Never say never. I have deep concerns, but I only have control over what we can do here locally, and as far as trying to represent our members and represent their interests, we’ll do that.”

Hargrove is uneasy with the announcement, but also realizes that as Mittal becomes more powerful he has more control on buying raw materials like coke, coal and iron ore, and that can create healthier local steel mills.

While the deal may not immediately affect Northwest Indiana workers, Reutter said it is another example of Mittal focusing his intentions on steel mills across the globe.

“I think the entire group of these mills in the U.S. are suffering from absentee ownership,’’ Reutter said. “It’s a lesson that never changes. An absentee owner is less in tune to the local market and power structure.”

Another major question this deal raises is the future of U.S. Steel Corp. Bradford said if Arcelor officials want to defeat Mittal’s proposal, the company should make a bid for U.S. Steel.

U.S. Steel spokesman John Armstrong declined to comment about the Mittal deal.

Industry analyst Christopher Plummer of Metal Strategies said his phone was ringing all day from investors and other companies who were curious about what this will mean for U.S. Steel and AK Steel.

Plummer pointed out that U.S. Steel has cash available, but isn’t sure what assets are available for U.S. Steel right now to purchase because many mills have already been gobbled up.

“There’s a lot of pressure from the financial community for U.S. Steel to do something and at this point it has to make a strategic decision about where it goes from here,’’ Plummer said. “U.S. Steel might be a takeover target whether it likes it or not.”

For now, Plummer believes the local mills and other Mittal steel mills in the United States won’t see immediate changes.

“If this deal goes ahead, nothing really changes here in North America,’’ Plummer said. “It’s the same as it was last week.”

Plummer also believes that if the Arcelor deal comes to fruition it will strengthen Mittal’s negotiating power with the automotive makers.

“It will help at the bargaining table in terms of getting business,’’ Plummer said.

Jim Robinson, USW District 7 director, said he’s still piecing together what this acquisition could mean from a local perspective.

“I don’t know that you can say they’re putting more focus internationally. Mittal has been an international operation since he began putting this stuff together. The obvious answer is, it means something, but it’s too early to tell what it is.”

Paul Gipson, president of USW Local 6787 at Burns Harbor, is optimistic.

He says when he looks back at the steel industry and remembers the bankruptcies, one of the biggest problems was that steelmakers had to spend too much money on raw materials.

“What better way to combine with someone almost as big as you,’’ Gipson said. “I think Mittal would love to own all of the facilities on this lake.”

If Mittal is successful in buying Arcelor, the combined company would have 61 plants in 27 countries and a presence in five of the nine major steel markets.

Mittal Steel, which is run out of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and London, is 88 percent owned by the Mittal family. Arcelor was created in 2002 through the merger of Usinor SA of France, Arbed SA of Luxembourg and Aceralia Corp. Siderurgica SA of Spain.