The European Commission (EC) has prohibited the creation of a regional flat steel joint-venture by ThyssenKrupp and Tata Steel under EU merger regulations, the EC said on Tuesday June 11.
The EC determined that the merger would have reduced competition and increased prices for various types of steel products, and the steelmakers had not offered adequate remedies to address those concerns, the EC said."Our investigation showed that the merger would have led to higher prices for steel products that are used as inputs by the packaging industry and car manufacturers," EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said."This would have harmed European competitiveness in these sectors and led to higher prices for consumers buying canned food or cars," she added. "Because the companies did not offer remedies that fully addressed our competition...