‘Swedish SSAB wants to buy Tata in IJmuiden’

The Swedes would actually want to buy the steel activities of the German ThyssenKrupp. However, because there are more interested parties, SSAB would have the takeover of Tata in IJmuiden as plan B, according to Handelsblatt.

According to the newspaper, SSAB is not interested in the British activities of Tata Steel Europe. Previously, there were rumors that SSAB would like to incorporate all of Tata Steel Europe.

IJmuiden the profit maker of Tata

Within Tata Steel Europe, it is the Dutch activities that have generally been profitable in recent years. The British installations actually made a loss.

The Tata factory is conveniently located in IJmuiden, with its own seaport, whereby ships do not have to pass through the locks. As a result, raw materials such as iron ore and coal can be easily supplied and the steel produced can also be easily exported.

Overcapacity

The situation in the European steel industry is not too rosy. Although the worldwide demand for the material continues to rise, sales in Europe are declining. Most countries don’t need as much structural steel as China or India because they have largely modernized their infrastructure.

In addition, more and more car and machine manufacturers are moving their factories outside of Europe. This has resulted in enormous overcapacity in recent years, which fosters competition between companies.

Consolidation

According to Handelsblatt, it means that all steel mills are currently at a loss. Since a recovery is not in sight, various parties have started talks about consolidation. Tata Steel saw a merger of its European steel activities with that of ThyssenKrupp fail last year, due to objections from the European Commission.

Steel makers are also suffering from the corona crisis and the difficult market conditions in the steel industry due to the virus outbreak. Tata Steel was not yet available for comment. The company refused to comment on the rumors against Handelsblatt.