“After deeper analysis and discussions, it became clear that there were limited possibilities to integrate IJmuiden into the framework of SSAB’s strategies,” SSAB’s chief executive officer, Martin Lindqvist, said in an earnings release.
Shares of Tata Steel listed on the National Stock Exchange fell sharply after the development, and were trading 3.9 per cent lower at Rs. 599.60.
Lindqvist said that his company has carefully evaluated Tata Steel IJmuiden and has concluded that an acquisition would be difficult for technical reasons.
“We cannot be sufficiently certain that we could implement our industrial plan with the preferred technical solutions as quickly as we would wish. We cannot align Tata Steel Ijmuiden with our sustainability strategy in the way desired,” Lindqvist said.
This is the second time that Tata Steel’s efforts to sell parts of its Europe business have failed. The company had earlier failed to progress its deal to integrate the European business with Thyssenkrupp AG after resistance from European Union’s anti-trust body.
For Tata Steel, the sale of the European business is seen as crucial in its efforts to trim down its bloated debt levels. The company has suggested in the past that it will bring down its debt by $1 billion in the current financial year. At the end of the September quarter, Tata Steel’s debt stood at Rs. 1.04 lakh crore at the end of 2019-20.
