Thyssenkrupp loses appeal against EC veto on Tata Steel joint venture

Thyssenkrupp has lost its fight against an anti-trust ruling by European Commission on its proposal for a joint venture with Tata Steel Europe, the European arm of Tata Steel, as the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) dismissed its appeal outright.

The court agreed with the European Commission’s view that the combination, aimed at tackling overcapacity in the EU, could lead to a rise in steel prices. 

Thyssenkrupp said a merger of the two, while creating Europe’s second-largest steelmaker, would also have helped to soften the impact of overcapacity while addressing some of the steel sector’s problems.

In a statement, issued on Friday, the German industrial conglomerate said it would seek a review of the court’s verdict and that the Commission had failed to understand the real challenges faced by the steel sector in Europe.

According to Thyssenkrupp, the European Commission’s 2019 veto of the proposal used wrong standards to decide on the likely impairments that the merger could cause to effective competition in the steel sector.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager who was responsible for a spate of merger vetoes, had also warned that the steel sector merger would harm European competitiveness in the sector and increase not just steel prices but everything that uses steel.

Undeterred by the failed deal with Tata Steel, Thyssenkrupp said it is moving ahead with plans for a 50:50 joint venture with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.