The General Court of the EU has announced that it has upheld the European Commission’s decision to prohibit the merging of German-based Thyssenkrupp and India-based Tata Steel’s European operations.
The court agreed with the commission’s statement that the proposed merger transaction would result in a significant impediment to effective competition in a substantial part of the internal market.
In 2018, the two companies notified the commission of their plan to acquire joint control of a newly created joint venture on metallic coated and laminated steel products for packaging and hot-dip galvanized steel products used in the automotive industry. In 2019, the commission prohibited the creation of a joint venture by the two companies, claiming that the merger would have reduced competition and increased prices for different types of steel and the parties did not offer adequate remedies to address these concerns, as SteelOrbis previously reported.