European Commission clears Tata-Corus deal

The European Commission has cleared, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by the Indian steel producer Tata Steel of Corus Group Plc, a manufacturer of carbon steel and aluminium products based in Europe.

The Commission's investigation has found that the proposed transaction would not impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it, as the parties activities only overlap to a limited extent.

Tata Steel Ltd is a vertically integrated steel company active at all levels of steel production, including the extraction of iron ore from mines in India and the manufacture of semi-finished and finished carbon steel products at plants in India and south-East Asia.

Corus Group plc, UK, is a manufacturer of mainly semi-finished and finished carbon steel products at plants in Europe.

Tata Steel is one of the main players on the Indian market. Corus is a strong European player. The Commission's examination of the proposed transaction showed that the horizontal overlaps between the activities of Tata Steel and Corus within the EEA are limited to the supply of flat finished carbon steel and welded tubes, where the combined market shares are relatively low and below a level where the companies could affect either the total quantity or the prevailing price in the market.

At world-wide level, the Commission found overlaps between the parties in semi-finished and finished carbon steel products, long products and welded steel tubes. However, it was found that at this level the parties combined market shares are also relatively low and below a level where the companies could affect either the total quantity or the prevailing price in the market.