EU court blocks establishment of Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel joint venture

The joint venture could become the second largest steel producer in Europe

The European General Court has finally blocked the establishment of a joint venture of Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel, which the EU authorities blocked first in 2019. The joint venture could become the second largest steel producer in Europe after ArcelorMittal, but was denied because of fears of rising steel prices, Business Standard wrote.

“The two companies in 2019 had sought to tackle over-capacity and other challenges in the steel industry via the joint venture, which would have created Europe’s second-largest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal. But the European Commission said the deal could result in significant price hikes and demanded remedies,” Business Standard wrote.

The EU competition enforcer in its 2019 decision said the companies had not offered sufficient steps to address concerns, forcing it to block the deal and the companies to challenge the finding at the Luxembourg-based General Court.

The joint venture could become the second largest steel producer in Europe after ArcelorMittal. However, the European Commission said the deal could lead to significant price increases.

The parties can appeal on matters of law to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe’s top court.

Earlier GMK Center reported that Thyssenkrupp Steel would make its logistics activities an independent subsidiary, thyssenkrupp Steel Logistics GmbH. Thyssenkrupp is not only the largest steel producer in Germany, but also the second largest logistics service provider in the country, transporting 142 million tons of products per year.

In addition, ThyssenKrupp has started construction of a scrap processing plant in Duisburg. The capacity of the future plant is about 260 thousand tons of steel with a reduced carbon content per year.