Tata Steel Selling Dutch Steel Business

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Tata Steel India has confirmed that it is in talks with Swedish steelmaker SSAB (NASDAQ OMX:SSAB A) (Stockholm, Sweden) to sell its Dutch steel business, which includes the Ijmuiden steelworks.

In its latest financial results announcement, Tata Steel confirmed that it has commenced discussions with the Supervisory Board and Board of Management of Tata Steel Netherlands and the process "will move to the next stage including due diligence and stakeholders' consultations." It has also initiated the process to separate Tata Steel Netherlands and Tata Steel U.K. and will pursue separate strategic paths for the Netherlands and U.K. businesses in the future. Tata Steel employs more than 11,000 people in the Netherlands with roughly 9,000 located at the Ijmuiden steelworks. Tata Steel is also the U.K.'s largest steelmaker and the third-largest in Europe and employs around 20,000 people overall. It saw revenues for its last financial year fall from just under £7.1 billion ($9.1 billion) in 2019 to £6.2 billion ($8 billion) in 2020. The European operations posted a pre-tax loss of £857 million ($1.1 billion) for the 12 months ended March 31, 2020.

It stated: "Tata Steel continues its dialogue with the U.K. government on potential measures to safeguard the long-term future of Tata Steel U.K. and is also reviewing all options to make the business self-sustaining without the need for any funding support from Tata Steel India in the future." In early November, Industrial Info revealed that SSAB had expressed interest in taking over Tata's Steel's European operations. For additional information, see November 3, 2020, article - Sweden's SSAB Eyes Up Tata Steel Ltd. Deal.

T. V. Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Steel, said: "In Europe, though the overall environment remains challenging and recovery is more gradual, there has been an improvement in volumes and sales mix. We will continue to drive performance and work on a strategic resolution to ensure the focus remains on cash flows and self-sufficiency. We are continuing our discussions with the U.K. Government regarding the future strategy of our U.K. business."

The news that Tata is planning to split its European operations in order to sell off the Netherlands' business was greeted with dismay by U.K. unions concerned about the future for Tata Steel U.K.. "Today's news effectively means that Tata's European steel business will now be based solely in the U.K.," explained Tony Brady, Unite National Officer for steel. "With Brexit fast approaching, it is essential that Tata's U.K. steel business is able to continue trading effectively across the European Union. This means that it is crucial that the U.K. comes to a trade agreement with the EU in the coming weeks. The U.K. government has told us that Brexit will be good for Britain and British jobs; they must deliver on that promise. If the government wants to retain steelmaking capacity in the U.K., it can no longer stand on the sidelines watching. The U.K. steel sector needs a broad and long-term strategic commitment from central government, which needs to include a considerable financial investment."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.