Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Tata Steel mulls ThyssenKrupp tie-up

German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp on Saturday (July 9) defended merger talks with Indian rival Tata Steel saying the consolidation of the sector in Europe was necessary due to the “difficult economic situation”.

The Indian firm said the previous day it was in talks with its German competitor and other unnamed groups to create a large European steelmaker but did not give further details.


Tata has been considering seven bids for its UK assets since putting them up for sale in March, citing a global oversupply of steel, cheap imports into Europe, high costs and currency volatility.

“We have always said that we consider a consolidation in the European steel sector necessary due to the very difficult economic situation,” Thyssen spokeswoman Nicola Roettger told reporters.

“The entire steel industry in Europe is fighting to continue to have a future in a difficult economic context,” she said.

“Very few European steelmakers are currently making profits,” she said.

Koushik Chatterjee, group executive director and Tata Steel’s executive director for Europe, said it was “too early to give any assurances about the success of these talks”.

“A potential strategic combination of strip products businesses offers the best prospects to create a premium, world-class strip steel business with the scale and scope of capabilities to compete successfully on the global stage,” he said.

But he stressed that any agreement, especially about the inclusion of the UK business in the joint venture, depended on talks with the British and Welsh governments and trade unions, and on resolving issues about pension liabilities.

The British government has been racing to help find a buyer for Tata’s business, which had accounted for about 16,000 jobs in total, many of them at the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, the country’s biggest steel plant.

Last month, Tata agreed to sell its European piping business to Greybull Capital, a British-based family investment firm, safeguarding 4,400 jobs in Britain.

Former business secretary Sajid Javid had met Tata’s global chairman, Cyrus Mistry, in India earlier on Friday and reaffirmed the British government’s commitment to help.

He said the news that Tata was exploring a potential joint venture was “encouraging”.

“We will continue to work closely with Tata to find a long-term solution for sustainable blast furnace steel manufacturing in Port Talbot,” he said.

The government had previously said it would contribute hundreds of millions of pounds to any potential deal and take a stake of up to 25 per cent in the assets.

But Britain has been rocked by the shock vote in the June 23 referendum to leave the European Union, which sent the pound plummeting and plunged the country into uncertainty.

Chatterjee said Tata would also begin separate processes for the potential sale of the Speciality Steels business in northern England and the Hartlepool pipe mills.

“Both of these operations are largely independent of the strip products supply chain with their own specific characteristics,” he said.

“Tata Steel UK has already received interest from several bidders for Speciality Steels and the pipe mills in each case and a formal process will be commencing shortly.”

Roy Rickhuss, the general secretary of the trade union Community, said the delays and uncertainty over the sale were creating “frustration, even anger” among staff.

“This new approach means that uncertainty will continue for thousands of steelworkers and their families,” he said.

“It seems Tata believe this is in the best interests of sustaining steelmaking in Port Talbot and its downstream operations.

“But the test will come in the next steps that Tata takes and how the dialogue with ThyssenKrupp progresses.”

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Trump shakes hands with Modi during a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Key issues in India, US trade talks

TRADE talks between India and the US have hit a roadblock over disagreements on duties for auto components, steel and farm goods, Indian government sources said to Reuters, dashing hopes of reaching an interim deal ahead of president Donald Trump's July 9 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs.

Here are the key issues at play:

Keep ReadingShow less