Thyssenkrupp loses fight against EU veto against Tata Steel JV

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – German group Thyssenkrupp lost on Friday its battle against a European Union antitrust veto five years ago of its planned joint venture with Tata Steel that aimed to create Europe's second-largest steelmaker.

The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), Europe's highest court, sided with the European Commission and dismissed Thyssenkrupp's appeal entirely, the judges said.

The EU competition authority said the deal, aimed at addressing overcapacity and other challenges in the steel industry, could lead to price increases.

Thyssenkrupp said in a statement that it had taken note of the decision and would re-examine the ruling, adding that it continued to believe that the Commission's decision did not take into account the ongoing challenges facing the steel sector.

“In view of the difficult situation in the European steel industry, we do not consider the standards used by the European Commission to assess impairments of effective competition to be appropriate,” said the company.

The group, which has made several attempts to sell or merge its steel business since the failed deal with Tata Steel, said it remains focused on forming a 50:50 steel joint venture with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Marine Strauss; Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Writing by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter)