Thyssenkrupp sticks to steel spin-off plans following court judgement

German industrial group Thyssenkrupp reaffirmed its intention to establish its steel division as an independent entity on Friday, following a court ruling.

It issued the statement after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) published a ruling upholding a 2019 European Commission ban on a merger between Thyssenkrupp's steel division and the European steel business of the Indian company Tata Steel.

Thyssenkrupp's steel division is currently in the process of reorganization. The company referred to the July acquisition of 20% of the steel business by energy company EP Corporate Group (EPCG).

"Also, Thyssenkrupp and EPCG are in discussions to acquire an additional 30% of the shares in the steel business with the aim of forming an equal 50-50 joint venture," it said.

The commission rejected the merger with Tata Steel five years ago for competition reasons, prohibiting the merger "to avert serious harm to European industrial customers and consumers," the statement from Brussels said at the time.

A merger at the time would have created Europe's second-largest steel group, with around 48,000 employees and plants in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands.

Thyssenkrupp wanted to reduce its dependence on the fluctuating steel business, which then as now suffers from overcapacity and competitive pressure from Asia and the company took the commission's decision to the ECJ.

However, the court rejected the complaint in June 2022 and the appeal against that has now been rejected "in its entirety," the ECJ said.