Tata Steel has confirmed that it is in talks with Sweden-based steelmaker SSAB to sell its Ijmuiden steelworks in the Netherlands, the flagship unit belonging to Tata Steel Europe.
In a statement, while reporting the company’s FY 21 results, Koushik Chatterjee, Tata Steel’s
Chief Financial Officer said, “Based on the discussions, initiated by SSAB Sweden, regarding a potential acquisition of Tata Steel’s Netherlands business, we will undertake a due process and move to the next stages including consultation and due diligence.”
SSAB, which has a market value of around $3.2 billion, would gain control of Tata Steel’s European business if they pursued such a deal.
“SSAB has participated in several different discussions concerning consolidations in the European steel industry. The discussions with Tata are on-going but no decisions have been made,” said the Swedish major in a statement.
There can be no certainty that any transaction will materialize, nor as to the terms of any such potential transaction. Further announcements will be made in due course, SSAB’s statement added. SSAB manufactures sheet and plate steel. The company’s main products include hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and organic-coated steel sheets. SSAB’s production plants in Sweden, Finland and the US have an annual steel production capacity of approximately 8.8 million tonnes.