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Thyssenkrupp Sees Scope for Agreement With EU on Tata Deal

Thyssenkrupp sees room for reaching an agreement with the European Commission on a planned joint venture with Tata Steel

Thyssenkrupp Sees Scope for Agreement With EU on Tata Deal
An employee walks along the steel rolling production line at the Thyssenkrupp AG metals plant in Duisburg, Germany (Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)  

(Bloomberg) -- Thyssenkrupp AG sees room for reaching an agreement with the European Commission on a planned joint venture with Tata Steel Ltd. as “further discussion” with Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is set for next week.

“The EU commission has taken the adjustments to the remedies offered by Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel as an opportunity to conduct another market test,” Peter Sauer, a Thyssenkrupp spokesman, said by email. “There are still various ways to adjust the commitments already made, without compromising on the economic logic of the joint venture.”

The Financial Times earlier today reported that antitrust regulators were likely to block the deal unless both companies offer more concessions. The companies were said early last month to propose selling assets in Belgium, Spain and the U.K. to win antitrust approval for the hookup of their European steel operations. The EU extended the deadline for the merger review to June 17.

Thyssenkrupp-Tata May Get Nod on June 17 as EU Extends Deadline

--With assistance from William Wilkes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mariajose Vera in Munich at mvera1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edith Moy at echan10@bloomberg.net, Stephen Kirkland, Abigail Moses

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